Rs 200 crore to be spent on providing latest medical equipment in hospitals: CM

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today inaugurated six indoor patient departments (IPDs) at the Atal Institute of Medical Super Specialties at Chamiyana in Shimla district. He said that his government would spend at least Rs 200 crore this year on the installation of the latest medical equipment and technology in the health institutions of the state.

He said, “This hospital will have high-end medical technology. We will shortly start robotic surgery at this hospital, which will be the first such facility in the state. The facility will be started at Tanda medical college as well.” He added that the latest MRI machine had been approved for the hospital.

Sukhu said, “We have approved high-end MRI machines for the medical colleges in Tanda, Hamirpur and Nerchowk. As the Chamiyana hospital has been under construction for quite some time, my government has decided to complete the work on its own and sanctioned Rs 23 crore for it.” he added, “The hospital has a capacity of 337 beds and is equipped with high-end operating theatres and a cath lab. While it has just started operations, it will become fully functional within the next six months.”

Health Minister Dhani Ram Shandil, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Anirudh Singh, Secretary (Health) M Sudha Devi and AIMSS Principal Dr Brij Sharma were present on the occasion. The hospital was inaugurated in September 2022 but the super speciality departments of the Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) and Hospital, Shimla, could not be shifted here in the absence of a proper approach road, transport facilities etc. The OPDs of eight super specialty departments, namely urology, cardiology, nephrology, endocrinology, plastic surgery, gastroenterology, neurology and CVTS, were shifted to the Chamiyana hospital last year. Now, the IPDs of the departments of gastroenterology, neurology, endocrinology, nephrology, urology and plastic surgery had been shifted to the Chamiyana hospital. In the next two months, cardiology and cardiothoracic and vascular surgery (CTVs) services would also be transferred to this hospital.

The shortage of staff, especially senior residents and nurses, and the lack of residential facilities in and around the hospital were the biggest hurdles in starting the IPDs at the hospital. “We are looking for rented accommodation near the hospital. Besides, we are also exploring the possibility of adding another floor to one of the blocks on the premises for providing accommodation to doctors and nurses,” said Dr Sudhir Sharma, Medical Superintendant of the hospital.

Meanwhile, Kuldeep Tanwar, a local resident, said that the government should ensure proper transport facilities for patients to and fro the hospital. “At time, taxi drivers charge Rs 500 to ferry patients from Bhattakuffar to the hospital at a distance of 3 km,” he added.

Himachal Tribune