ROURKELA: Leading private healthcare service provider Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd will fully take over the operation and maintenance of Ispat Post-Graduate Institute & Super Speciality Hospital (IPGISSH) of SAIL’s Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) from March next year.
An agreement was signed between Rourkela Ispat Trust (RIT) and Apollo Hospitals in this regard on Tuesday. In a statement, the RSP said IPGISSH would be handed over to Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd (AHEL) on ‘as is where is’ basis on February 1, 2023. The complete takeover of operation and maintenance (O&M) will commence from March 1.
Currently, IPGISSH has super-speciality facilities in five disciplines - Cardiology, Cardio Thoracic and Vascular Surgery (CTVS), Neurology, Neurosurgery and Nephrology. These facilities would also be made available under the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) and Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY).
The 300-bed state-of-the-art IPGISSH is equipped with unique medical equipment and advanced facilities. It was dedicated to the nation by the then President Ramnath Kovind on March 21 last year. RSP informed that the RIT was constituted for managing the hospital and selecting the O&M partner. AHEL was selected as the O&M partner through bidding process.
The IPGISSH is all set to provide quality healthcare service at affordable cost to the people of Rourkela and the entire region including neighbouring states. It will provide relief to patients who are being forced to travel around 400 km to avail better treatment, the statement added.
Among others, director in-charge of RSP Atanu Bhowmick and ED (P&A) PK Satapathy were present. AHEL was represented by finance controller R Krishnakumar and senior vice-president K Ravichandran.
On April 1, 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced to upgrade the RSP-run Ispat General Hospital (IGH) into a medical college and super-speciality hospital. After inordinate delay, the RSP in 2018 started construction work of the IPGISSH on IGH campus at a cost of around `295 crore with bulk contribution from the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana.