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Gandhi Hospital shifting may miss schedule

By T. Lalith Singh



HYDERABAD Aug. 18. The shifting of the Gandhi Hospital to its new premises at old Musheerabad Jail is likely to miss the schedule. Though work has been progressing at a brisk pace, several glitches and changes in the original plan appear to be delaying the project.

The foundation stone for the hospital and medical college building complex was laid by the Chief Minister, N.Chandrababu Naidu, in June 2001. For the 1,075-bed super speciality hospital, initially a budget of Rs.40 crore was earmarked which had been revised and was now expected to cross the Rs.70-crore mark.

Though the medical and health authorities proposed to ready the hospital in 18 months, Mr.Naidu, while laying the foundation stone, directed them to complete it in 15 months, which meant by September 2002. However, the new hospital doesn't appear to be in a position to meet either the September deadline set by Chief Minister or even the original schedule of December.

While the original plan suggested eight floors for the main hospital building, two more floors were being added now. It was also decided to have a separate block for Out Patient (OP) instead of attaching it to the main complex.

Initially, a 17-acre land was provided for the hospital complex but later it was decided to procure five acres more from the jail authorities for the OP block, parking and quarters. Though an additional budget of Rs.4 crores for outpatient facility and Rs. 26 lakhs for quarters were earmarked, it was said the piece of land was yet to be handed over by the jail authorities. The Gandhi Hospital Superintendent, Dr. Haridas, admits that the budget was released, but he had `not received any communication about handing over the additional five-acre land.'

Officials of the A.P.Health and Medical Housing and Infrastructure Corporation, attributed the delays to the changes in the plans. "Still, we are trying to complete the complex by the year end,'' said Radhakrishna Murthy, superintending engineer.

The hospital staff also complain that decisions on procuring equipment and furniture for the new hospital complex had not yet been made so far. "What we now have is decades-old equipment, most of which is fast turning outdated. If the new complex is being developed on the lines of a super speciality hospital, all the redundant equipment has to be replaced with the latest ones,'' argues a doctor.

Given the cumbersome procedures involved in identifying and procuring new equipment, it was feared the whole process would take a considerable time. The hospital superintendent, while agreeing that most of the present equipment was decades old, said he has no clear guidelines from Government on replacing it. "Whenever the building is ready, I will shift with the equipment and furniture that we presently have. If and when the budget is provided, we will go for the new and latest equipment,'' he added.





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