Kamal Ghorui
Patna: CM Nitish Kumar on Saturday inspected the ongoing construction of a new 1,200-bed hospital-cum-residential building on the premises of Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) in the state capital.He asked officials to expedite the remaining construction work at the earliest. “With the completion of this state-of-the-art multi super speciality hospital, patients will have better facilities for treatment. Additionally, the state’s health services will become better and more advanced,” Nitish said while inspecting the under-construction building.Officials present during the inspection assured the CM that the construction work was progressing rapidly and would be completed soon.“The upcoming facility is a seven-storey building covering a total area of over 11 lakh square feet. It is being built at an estimated cost of approximately Rs 513 crore. Upon completion of this 1,200-bed project and other ongoing expansions, the total capacity of IGIMS is expected to reach 3,000 beds,” a health dept official said on Saturday.Speaking on the occasion, the CM said, “Since Nov 24, 2005, when our govt was formed for the first time in the state, work was done for the upliftment of all sections of society and development of every sector. Several important works were done in the health sector. Earlier, only 39 patients used to come to primary health centers (PHCs) for treatment per month, meaning 1 or 2 patients per day. Since 2006, complete arrangements for free medicines and treatment were made in hospitals. Now an average of 11,600 patients come to PHCs every month.”“Earlier Bihar had only six medical colleges, which has now increased to 12. The Patna Medical College and Hospital is being expanded to 5,400 beds, and the other five old medical colleges are being expanded to 2,500 beds. IGIMS is also being expanded to 3,000 beds,” Nitish said, adding, “the health system has been significantly strengthened, due to which people of Bihar are getting good health facilities.”
