By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: Big good news for New Delhi’s Jamia Nagar area – one of the thickly Muslim-dominated localities in the National Capital: this area of over five lakh people will soon have a state-of-the-art 300-bed community hospital.
The broad objective of the hospital is to meet the medico-social needs of various communities of different economic status. It will provide various services/facilities of general nature to the present requirements of the residents of Jamia Nagar.
The construction work of multi-crore rupees Al-Shifa Multi-Specialty Hospital at Dawat Nagar in Jamia Nagar is progressing at a good pace. The structure of basement and ground floor is complete. RCC work for 1st floor is in progress (50% complete). Plaster work of basement floor is complete and ground floor is 75% complete. Contractors for interiors, electricals, plumbing, air-conditioning works have been identified and finalized.
Jamia Nagar is a fast developing suburban area of New Delhi having about 5 lakh people with a big Muslim population. A big chunk of this population belongs to lower middle class or lower income group. The basic facilities have not been developed here to cater to the fast-developing population. There are a number of doctors and poly clinics in the area. They usually remain choked with the flow of patients. Unfortunately, none of them are equipped and competent enough to cater to the needs of the population.
What adds to the misery of local population – mostly from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh – is the rising cost of living. The cost of living is very high in Delhi compared to other states; especially the cost of health care and education is almost unaffordable for even middle class and upper middle class families in most of the cases.
In view of the ever increasing poor population in Jamia Nagar, and absence of a well equipped health care facility, a full-fledged hospital was a must.
The three-story Al-Shifa Multi-Specialty Hospital will provide almost all health care facilities like obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics and neonatology, internal medicine (general medicine) and general surgery. Besides, the hospital will provide specialist consultation in cardiology, orthopedics, gastroenterology, endocrinology, neurology, nephrology, pulmonology, ENT, Dermatology, dental and ophthalmology.
The other facilities that the hospital will provide include: Casualty and emergency (24X7), labour delivery suite, neonatal ICU, operation theatres, ICU and surgical ICU, clinical lab, imaging services (CT, X-ray, Ultrasound), diagnostics (ECG, TMT, EEG, EMG, Spirometry etc), consultation room (separate for women), pharmacy, physiotherapy, comfortable waiting areas, accommodation (Deluxe, Single and General).
Al-Shifa Multi-Specialty Hospital will charge for all of its services, but the charges will be reasonable and lower than the market. The hospital will be self-dependent, and so to bear medical expenses of poor patients, there will be a separate organization. That organization will pay the medical cost of such patients to the hospital.
“High-tech medical care has become very expensive, mainly due to the exorbitant prices of imported equipment. It is therefore not possible to offer free treatment for procedures like heart surgery, angioplasty, neurosurgery, laser treatment, and so on. Thus, user charges are necessary, but can be kept reasonable if the services are efficiently utilized and equipments are carefully maintained. Keeping in view of public benefit, the Human Welfare Trust has kept the provision in its plan to provide health care facilities at an affordable cost,” says a brochure of the coming hospital.
It is most likely that the hospital will start functioning in couple of months.
“As per the plan, the first phase of Al-Shifa Multi-Specialty Hospital comprising outpatient department, inpatient department accommodating 40 beds and a diagnostic centre will be completed by January 2010. The outpatient department is scheduled for inauguration by the end of first quarter of the year 2010 (Insha Allah),” said Gauhar Iqbal, Public Relation Officer of Human Welfare Trust. The process of purchasing of medical equipments, machineries has already started. The Advisory Board and Managing Committee of Hospital have already been constituted. The process of recruitment of doctors and other medical, non-medical staff has also started, he added.
Al-Shifa Multi-Specialty Hospital is part of Human Welfare Trust’s multi-billion Vision 2016 program that has various projects to uplift the community educationally and financially as well as to improve their health.
Among others, Vision 2016 program envisages state-of-the-art health facilities on subsidized/marginal costs to cater to the needs of poor patients. Under the Vision 2016 project, Human Welfare Trust plans to set up one super speciality hospital, one medical college, ten new speciality hospitals, ten community health insurance programs, 100 medical centers, 10 mobile medical units, one blood bank in each state, 1000 blood donor groups in the country, one drug bank in each state and 20 diagnostic centres in the country.
The first phase of Al-Shifa Multi-Specialty Hospital will cost more than Rs 10 crore. It is estimated that the first phase construction (hospital building, doctors’ quarters, staff quarters, supportive structures) will cost Rs 62,908,800. The medical equipment (related to radiology, obstetrics & gynecology, NICU Equipment, diagnostics, operation theatre 1, sterilization room, lab services, emergency/casualty equipment) will cost Rs 14,017,000. Besides, infrastructure equipment and works will cost Rs 26,410,000 and pre-operational expenses will be Rs 2,550,000. At the completion of the first phase there will be 100 beds in the hospital.
Human Welfare Trust
FCRA Account
A/C No.:10177185337
State Bank of India
Zakir Nagar branch,
Zakir Nagar, Jamia Nagar, Okhla, New Delhi-110025
Branch code 8079
Local account
A/C No.: 00151010015820
Oriental Bank of Commerce
73,74,75 & 601, Sunder Commercial Complex
Chawri Bazar, New Delhi-110006
Branch code 0015