BENGALURU: After stiff opposition from opposition parties and various non-government organisations, the state government has put on hold its plan to go ahead with the construction of hospitals and medical colleges under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.
However, the government has allocated 10 acres of land at Kyalasanahalli in Bengaluru North to set up a 1,000-bed hospital with the support of the Azim Premji Foundation (APF).
Dr Sharan Prakash Patil, Minister for Medical Education and Skill Development, said, “It will be a multi-speciality hospital to cater to the needs of patients coming from rural areas. The work will begin soon at a total cost of Rs 1,000 crore, and the foundation will spend Rs 350 crore on maintenance every year. It is given on a 99-year lease. With the rise in organ transplantation cases and the high cost of treatment, the poor cannot afford it. Therefore, this hospital will cater to such expensive health services.”
He further explained, “Similar to the Jayadeva and Kidwai hospital model, this hospital will provide 70% of the services free of cost and the remaining 30% will be based on minimal charges, which will include compensation under various government schemes, reimbursement through insurance services and others. There will be no role of the government, or it will be minimal, and APF will be given complete freedom to run the hospital. Only the Medical Education Minister, the Principal Secretary and the Director of the department will be board members of this hospital.”
Recently, the state government had decided to set up medical colleges under the PPP model in Vijayapura, Tumakuru and Kolar.