ROURKELA: Demand is growing for development of a comprehensive medical institution with unification of the new Ispat Post-Graduate Institute and Super Specialty Hospital (IPGISSH) and Ispat General Hospital (IGH), both under the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) of SAIL.
In 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced to upgrade the IGH into a medical college and super specialty hospital. Instead, the RSP constructed the IPGISSH on the vacant land of IGH with Central funds. The IPGISSH was inaugurated in March 2021 without the PG institute.
In a letter to the PM, senior BJP leader Ramesh Agarwal said the IPGISSH established with Rs 350 crore Central funds has been addressing the need for specialised healthcare, but the PG institute is yet to come into existence.
The RSP spends around Rs 80-Rs 90 crore annually towards its employee health benefit scheme. Yet, due to limitations in modern infrastructure of IGH and the Sector-22 hospital, many RSP employees and their families still seek treatment in referred hospitals across Odisha and beyond.
Agarwal said the IGH is already running a nursing institution. The IPGISSH with its unused infrastructure of the PG institute shares common boundary with the IGH. Unifying these institutions would require minimal physical restructuring and can immediately serve as a well-integrated hub for healthcare and medical education in eastern India, he added.