The 24-storey In-Patient Department (IPD) tower, launched with its foundation stone laid at the State-owned Sawai Man Singh Hospital (SMSH) campus in Jaipur, will be one of the tallest hospitals in the country on the completion of its construction. The tower will have a helipad for air ambulances, a “medical martyr memorial centre”, and 1,200 additional beds for patients.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who laid the tower’s foundation stone on Tuesday, affirmed that it would help strengthen health service infrastructure in Rajasthan. He said the model of ‘Nirogi Rajasthan’ was conceptualised and implemented in 2019 and the State government would shortly bring in the Right to Health Act to provide healthcare for all.
The IPD tower, along with an Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, will be constructed at a cost of ₹588 crore in the next 32 months. One hundred well-equipped ‘Chiranjeevi Mamta Express’ ambulances were flagged off on the occasion for providing medical services to expectant mothers during delivery, and for postpartum treatment of women in the far-flung rural areas of the State.
A ‘Nirogi Rajasthan Medifest-2022’ was also inaugurated for holding 18 interactive sessions with medical experts. Mr. Gehlot said health education would be incorporated in primary school pedagogy. The construction of four satellite hospitals in Jaipur with an investment of ₹100 crore was also announced on the occasion.
Medical and Health Minister Parsadi Lal Meena said the first tower of its kind in the country would provide state-of-the-art facilities to the patients with its intensive care units and 20 out-patient wings. The SMSH, which is already the biggest government hospital in Rajasthan, receives about 15,000 out-patients per day. Mr. Meena said patients would get all the facilities in one building after the IPD tower’s construction.
NITI Aayog member V.K. Paul, Medanta Heart Institute’s Naresh Trehan, Narayana Health’s Devi Prasad Shetty, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-New Delhi’s Randeep Guleria, and Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences’ S.K. Sarin were present in the foundation stone laying ceremony.
