Bastar's first super-specialty hospital opens

NEW DELHI: In a move towards bringing peace and normalcy to Bastar, the Naxal-affected region is set to get its first super specialty hospital in Jagdalpur starting February with Hyderabad-based Continental Hospitals partnering with Chhattisgarh government.

The 240-bedded facility, built on 11 acres of land in Jagdalpur’s Dimrapal village, will provide advanced medical services, including cardiology, neurosurgery and urology, to the people of Bastar, who have been travelling to Raipur or Hyderabad for tertiary medical care.

The soft launch of certain services will take place Friday, with the formal launch in February. Advanced medical services have, so far, been limited to Raipur and Bilaspur within Chhattisgarh.


“This is a challenge for us to prove that we can make a difference in the healthcare of India,” Dr Guru Reddy, founder and managing director of Continental Hospitals, told ET. “We have taken this as a challenge to bring the best of care to the people of Bastar, who have been travelling to Odisha and Hyderabad for tertiary medical care.”

The hospital will have OPD, ICU and 24x7 emergency care. It will have six super specialities including cardiology, cardiothoracic and vascular surgery, neurosurgery, neurology, nephrology and urology. So far, Bastar region has had basic healthcare. With the fight against Maoism entering its final leg, the security forces are expecting an influx of injured Naxalites.

“In the final leg of the flushing operation it may not be possible to airlift the injured. The super speciality hospital in the heart of Bastar will help in treating them,” a senior Chhattisgarh government official told ET, asking not to be named.

The hospital is an example of an innovative public-private partnership model with government infrastructure, private sector expertise and CSR funding. While CPWD has constructed the hospital, National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) has contributed towards operationalising the hospital through CSR funding and Continental Hospitals will provide medical specialists.

“We have hired about 35 consultant doctors and we are in the process of hiring about 10 more. We have already hired nursing staff and junior doctors,” Dr Reddy said.

When asked if security concerns were expressed, Dr Reddy said, “We have been assured by the district administration that the security situation has improved manifold”.

The super specialty hospital administration will be overseen by a board, which will have members of the private hospital group and the state government. All the medical expenses will be approved by this board. The hospital will treat patients covered under PM-Jan Aarogya Yojana.

“For other patients not covered under any scheme or through insurance, private hospital rates will apply,” said the official quoted above.