___________

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

After the successful operationalization of its smelter plant at Jharsuguda, Vedanta Aluminium Limited (VAL) has now decided to set up a state-of-the-art, multi-speciality hospital at the same location at an investment of Rs 50 crore.

… The hospital will be spread over nine thousand sq metres.

Construction work on the hospital has kicked off in June 2010 and it is scheduled to be fully operational by January 2011. Mumbai-based Hosmac India Limited, a noted company in the field of hospital planning and management consultancy, has been roped in for the design and lay-out of VAL’s hospital.

The overall layout of the hospital is designed keeping in view the comfort and convenience of the patients and their attendants. Despite being a high-class hospital in terms of its structure and services, it will serve the people belonging to different socio-economic groups and especially and will be dedicated to timely and affordable medical assistance to the poor.

To ensure a highly professional approach in the running of the hospital, VAL is negotiating with healthcare majors like Apollo Group of Hospitals and Fortis. Both these hospitals are expected to operate the hospital jointly. …

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

The Hyderabad-based Global Hospitals Group plans to upgrade itself to a major super-speciality healthcare provider in the country. For this, it will add over 2,000 beds in five projects in various cities within three years with an investment of over Rs 1,200 crore.

… The group, which has been in existence for 12 years and focusses on super-speciality and organ transplantation,…

… The company will also set up a 450-bed hospital in Kolkata with an investment of Rs 200 crore and a 300-bed facility in Bhubaneswar by pumping in Rs 100 crore. The fifth project will come up in Chennai, for which the group will invest Rs 75-80 crore.

The article at http://www.expresshealthcare.in/201005/market01.shtml by Rita Dutta gives a detailed exposition of the recent boom of healthcare facilities in Bhubaneswar. A few years back a WIPRO VP mentioned the lack of such facilities as one of the main reasons (others being availability of high class housing, high class schools, and good shopping opportunities) why many top IT managers were unwilling to move to Bhubaneswar to manage bigger teams. Fortunately there has been movement in all these fronts.

Following are some excerpts from the abovementioned article.

However, recent industrial, infrastructural and educational development in Bhubaneswar, has made the city, considered to be one of the cleanest and planned cities of modern India and one of the fastest developing cities of India, the epicentre of healthcare revolution in Orissa. Says Bipul K Jha, Industry Analyst, Healthcare Practice, South Asia & Middle East, Frost and Sullivan, "This change has been powered by the huge investment flow, rising employment opportunities, and increasing foothold of service-based sectors, which has in turn led to rise in purchasing power and increased standards of living."

Bhubaneswar, now being dubbed ‘the rising star of the East’, has attracted a whopping Rs 6,00,000 crore investment from across all industries like IT, technology, steel, aluminium, tourism, health and education sectors. Huge capex by the large industrial houses in the core infrastructure sector has witnessed a rise of 11.5 per cent in the last two years. The per capita income of the state has shot up from Rs 10,567 in 1999-2000 to Rs 16,149 in 2007-08. The population has grown by nearly 8 per cent in the last decade; the metro area of Bhubaneswar has mixed culture population base of 19 lakh, housing almost 11 percent of the urban population of the state. "Moreover, one corporate hospital (Kalinga Hospital) has set an example for other players by being an early market entrant and doing good business," says Jha.

It is a highly under-served market with its ratio of beds per 1,000 population being two-thirds of the national average of 0.86. What is attracting corporates like Apollo, AMRI, Narayana Hrudayalaya, Vedanta Aluminium, Asian Heart and Global to set up base here is the untapped potential. Says Dr K Ravindranath, Chairman, Global Hospital, who is setting up a 200-bed hospital in Bhubaneswar, "Our hospitals in Chennai and Hyderabad have always been getting a steady stream of patients from Eastern India, which constitutes one third of India’s population. Eastern India is also frequented by patients from Nepal and Bangladesh. So it makes complete business sense to foray into Bhubaneswar, before anyone else does."

Explains Dr Ramakant Panda, Vice Chairman, Asian Heart Institute, Mumbai as why he has planned a hospital in Bhubaneswar. "There is a dire need for hospitals with good infrastructure in Bhubaneswar. Moreover, being from Orissa, I want to do my bit for the State."

Adds Harihar Rath, Deputy General Manager, Marketing, Apollo Hospital, Bhubaneswar, "Lacunae of healthcare services and the rising disposable income of people of the regions are the main reasons for healthcare investment in the area. With more IT and BPO firms setting up offices in Bhubaneswar, the paying populace has also increased."

Government Impetus

The present Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik, has played a crucial role in giving the much-required thrust, according to Dr Bidhan Das, Managing Director, Octavo Solutions, a consultancy firm that has done some projects in Orissa. "The Government’s efforts to improve infrastructure in the city have induced private realtors like DLF to invest. The entry of retail chains like Reliance, Big Bazaar, and Pantaloons has helped the Government to support the economy of Bhubaneswar. The uplift of the economy has attracted corporates to invest in healthcare," says he.

…

The Impact

From a city that lagged behind in diagnostic procedures, today hospitals in the city have radiology procedures like 64 slice CT, 1.5 Tesla MRI, 3-D ultrasound and digital mammogram. The cath labs are flat panel, while OTs have laminar air flow and HEPA filters. All 50 speciality and super speciality treatments are available now in the leading hospitals. The city’s first corporate hospital, Kalinga Hospital, now offers kidney transplantation, LV Prasad Eye Institute has taken the lead in dealing with complicated ophthalmic cases, while high risk cardiac cases are dealt with by Kalinga Hospital, Aditya Care and Apollo Hospital. With Hemalata Cancer Hospital now providing all three branches of oncology treatment, especially linear accelerator with IMRT and CT stimulation, the high cancer burden of the state has been taken care of.

In the current scenario, while existing hospitals are introducing cutting edge technology, scaling up and even planning larger hospitals, corporates are rushing in to grab a pie of the market. Diagnostic giants like Dr Lalpathlabs, Ranbaxy and Piramal Diagnostics have set-ups there. Even stem cell banking, a relatively new concept, is picking up here. Cryobanks International India, which deals in umbilical cord blood stem cell banking, has opened a collection centre in Bhubaneswar. As many as three private medical colleges (Hi-Tech Medical College, Sum Medical College and Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences) have come up in Bhubaneswar in the last few years. Even a slew of nursing colleges have also been set up to fulfil the skyrocketing demand. The healthcare boom has paved the path for many NRI doctors (both Oriya and non Oriya) to show willingness to work in Bhubaneswar, a trend that is a recent phenomenon.

Here’s a look at the players who powered the change.

Kalinga Hospital: It would be no exaggeration to say that it was Kalinga Hospital that took the first initiative to change the healthcare firmament of the state. The hospital was conceived and promoted by 62 non resident Oriyas, who are mostly doctors by profession, based in the US and the UK. With an aim to provide the latest medical technology to the people of the state and to stop them from going outside the state seeking treatment, the doctors pumped in Rs 30 crore to start Kalinga Hospital located at Chandrasekharpur area of Bhubaneswar, with 160 beds in 1998.

Today, the 250-bed Kalinga Hospital spread over 10 acres is the first hospital in Orissa to do regular cardiac cath, open heart surgery, dialysis and kidney transplant, advanced neuro surgery, gastro-intestinal surgery and cosmetic surgery. It is the only recognised centre in the State for kidney transplantation. …

LV Prasad Eye Institute: This hospital, set up in July 2006, has taken the city’s ophthalmology care several notches higher. This not-for-profit institute, that conducts 35 per cent of all care at no cost to the patients, has a unique ocular prosthesis laboratory that offers cosmetic eyes tailored to the patients’ needs. The institute started the state’s first community eye bank for corneal retrieval and transplantation. Named ‘Drusti Daan’, the eye bank is housed on campus, but serves all of Orissa. Several surgeries that it has pioneered in Orissa are Infiniti cataract surgical system, constellation vitrectomy system and radio frequency devices offering bloodless eye plastic and orbit surgery. …

Aditya Care Hospital: Hyderabad’s Care Hospital started this 100-bed cardiology hospital on a leased property near Municipal Kalyan Mandap at Chandrasekharpur in September 2007. The list of procedures that the hospital has pioneered in Orissa include EP study and RFA, Paediatric Cardiology Intervention and CRT. Besides, the hospital has taken a lead in doing PTCA with stenting and ICD in cardiology, CABG multiple grafts and paediatric cardiac surgery like VSD closure, ASD closure and PDA in cardiac surgery, haemodialysis, laparoscopic surgery and joint replacement surgery.

"The hospital will be scaled up to 300 beds, for which 3.92 acres of land has been obtained from the Government of Orissa," adds Dr Mishra.

Hemalata Hospitals and Research Centre: This super speciality hospital focusing on oncology is the state’s only comprehensive cancer hospital in the private sector that offers medical oncology, radiation therapy and cancer surgery under one roof. This 100- bed unit, with a built up area of 80,000 square metres, was set up in 2005. The project was conceived by Dr Arabinda Rath and funded by TDB. This is the only hospital in Orissa with a linear accelerator….

Apollo Hospital: In March this year, Apollo Hospital inaugurated the city’s largest tertiary care hospital in Bhubaneswar with 150 beds, expandable to 350 beds. This Rs-150-crore project is spread over two lakh square feet in a sprawling campus of 7.5 acres, providing over 50 specialities. The hospital has installed the State’s first 64 slice CT and paediatric cardiology unit. It also has a telemedicine facility. …

In the Pipeline

There are many more hospitals in the pipeline.

AMRI Hospitals: A joint venture between Emami and Shrachi Group of Industries, Kolkata-based AMRI Hospitals is coming out with a multi-speciality hospital at Khandagiri Square, a prime location in Bhubaneswar. This is AMRI’s first project outside Kolkata.

Says DN Agarwal, Executive Director, AMRI Hospitals, "This Rs-120-crore project with 300 beds spread over five acres would have an FSI of 3,50,000 square feet. This is likely to be commissioned by August 2010."

Sparsh Hospital: Sparsh Hospital, which runs an 80-bed hospital and claims to have pioneered procedures like Chemoport insertion and Hicman’s catheterisation in Bhubaneswar, has planned a 250-bed set up in the Chandrasekharpur area of the city. The new project, built at a cost of Rs 40 crore, would house all super speciality facilities under one roof. Says Dr Ghanashyam Biswas, Director, Sparsh Hospital, "The construction for the new project will start by 2011 and will be completed by 2013."

 

Care Hospital: After achieving success with the JV project Aditya Care, the Care group has planned a multi super speciality hospital of 200 beds in Chandrasekharpur. The 4.5 acres were acquired around 18 months back, but due to trespassing, construction has not begun yet.

Ayush Hospital: This group, which runs a 120-bed hospital at Acharya Vihar Square in Bhubaneswar, has drawn up a plan for its second multi-speciality hospital in the city at an investment of about Rs 200 crore. The proposed hospital would be equipped with over 500 beds and it is expected to be operational by 2012. Says Dr Ashok Acharya, MD, Ayush Hospital, "The land is being identified for the project and construction work for this hospital is expected to start from next year."

Global Hospital: Hyderabad-based Global Hospital is building a 200-bed hospital. This project, built at an estimated cost of Rs 100 crore on a leased building, would be focusing on tertiary and quaternary care (specially renal transplants). Says Dr K Ravindranath, Chairman, Global Hospital, "This is a JV project with a local group, whose founders are my patients. This is their first venture in healthcare. The hospital would be known as Global Hospital." He added that the cost of equipping the hospital would be borne by Global Hospital. Construction is expected to start by November this year and commissioning is likely by the end of next year.

Narayana Hrudayalaya: Bengaluru-based Narayana Hrudayalaya is coming up with a 750-bed health city at Dum Duma at Khandagiri Square. The hospital, spread over seven acres, would provide multi super speciality treatment. Says Dr Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, Vice Chairman, Narayana Hrudayalaya, "The first phase of the hospital with 250 beds is being built at a cost of Rs 80 crore. We would start construction of the hospital after the monsoons, this year. We would commission the first phase by 2012."

Desun Hospital: Kolkata-based Desun Hospital and Heart Institutive has planned a hospital on Bhubaneswar Cuttack Road. The 250-bed green field project is slated to be commissioned by 2013. Says Sajal Dutta, CMD, Desan Hospital, "This multi super speciality hospital is being set up at an estimated cost of Rs 80 crore."

Vedanta Aluminium: Fulfilling the need for a full-fledged trauma centre, Vedanta Aluminium is setting up a 100-bed state-of-the-art trauma care centre near Gangapada on National Highway 5. This Rs-75-crore project is coming up on 10 acres of land.

Asian Heart Institute: Mumbai’s Asian Heart Institute (AHI), established by Dr Ramakant Panda and a few other cardiologists, has also announced plans of opening a state-of-the-art multi speciality hospital in Chandrasekharpur. Spread over 1,50,000 square feet, the 400-bed hospital is expected to come up with an investment of Rs 150 crore. Says Dr Ramakant Panda, Vice Chairman, AHI, "We have a start-up plan for 200 beds at an estimated cost of Rs 70 crore. We would eventually expand it to 400 beds, spending Rs 150 crore." About the significance of the project, he says, "AHI has set a benchmark in providing quality care in the country. Our project in Orissa would be built on the same principles as AHI, Mumbai and would offer the patients the same treatment and care at world class standards."

It will have 12 ultra modern operation theatres, 100 intensive care units, fully equipped modernised pathology services, radiology, imaging services, blood bank, 24-hour pharmacy services and cardiac ambulance services with mobile cathlab. Though the foundation stone of the hospital has been laid, progress was stalled by some dispute regarding the land. "As the land being sought for the project is a Government land, hence acquiring it is a little issue," says Dr Panda.

UIMS: A group of non-resident Oriyas have joined hands to set up Orissa’s first nuclear medicine centre- Utkal Institute of Medical Sciences (UIMS).

AIIMS: The upcoming All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Bhubaneswar will have a 978-bed hospital. Besides, 15 super speciality and 18 speciality wards have also been proposed. The State Government is supposed to provide 100 acres of land free at Sijua on the outskirts for the prestigious institute. According to a review meeting, while 93 acres have already been transferred for construction, the rest will soon be handed over. The State Government had already provided road connectivity. The much-hyped project is scheduled for completion by 2012.

…

The Road Ahead

As more hospitals are being set up, more state-of-the-art technology will be introduced and more choices will be offered to patients. To address the dearth of paramedic and nursing staff, hospitals are keen on starting paramedical and nursing colleges. During inauguration of Apollo Hospital, Bhubaneswar, Dr Prathap Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospital Group, pleaded to the Government regarding land for a medical and paramedical college. Kalinga Hospital, which started GNM nursing school in 2004, is scaling up its intake from 50 to 100 students a year. Some are optimistic that the city would become a Mecca for medical tourism for countries like Bangladesh and Nepal. With big moolah pouring in, a steady infrastructure and active support from the Government, it can only be sunshine!

rita.dutta@expressindia.com

Following is from http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=61253. In total there is plan for 140 such centers, of which 22 are level I, 58 are level II and 60 are level III. Among them Odisha will have 2 level I, 2 level II and 2 level III trauma care centers.

Some scheme should be found for having trauma care in the western corridor, possibly in the VSS Medical College.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Financial Express.

… Reddy, while talking to media persons on eve of inauguration of the Apollo Hospital, Bhubaneswar, said on Thursday the group is proposing to set up a nursing college in Orissa. “ If the state government would provide the required land in Bhubaneswar, we would start the nursing college and a medical college at a later stage."

Dr. Pankaj S Mankad, chief executive officer, Appolo Hospitals, Bhubaneswar, said the nursing college would be started with an intake capacity of 50.

… Apollo Group, which now runs 48 hospitals across seven countries, has 15 colleges of nursing and hospital management.

The group has set up its 49th hospital at Bhubaneswar over an area of 7.5 acre with an investment of Rs 150 crore. It is planning to invest another Rs 150 crore to expand the facilities in Apollo Hospital, Bhubaneswar.

“ With over 50 specialities and super-specialities, Apollo Hosptials, Bhubaneswar offers comprehensive solutions across the healthcare spectrum,” said Anumpam Das, chief operating officer(COO).

Gangapada is couple of kilometers before Khurda on the National Highway. The Bhubaneswar-Cuttack CDP proposes the new airport to be located there. Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard about the Vedanta sponsored trauma center coming up there.

The construction work for a 100-beded, state-of-the-art Trauma Care Centre, to be set up by Vedanta Aluminium Ltd (VAL) in Bhubaneswar, is likely to start soon.

The state government has handed over the required 10 acres of land for the centre which would come up near Gangapada on the national highway No.5 in the Bhubaneswar-Khurda patch. It will handle the ever-increasing trauma cases and an estimated Rs 75 crore is proposed to be spent on the project. HOSMAC Consultant, an internationally reputed hospital maker has been roped in by the company to render its professional expertise for this project, company sources said.

… The setting up the centre assumes importance as the death rate in accidents per hundred population in Orissa at 35 compares unfavourably with the national average. Add to it, there is no specialized trauma centre in the state with latest facilities to cater to the treatment needs. “The proposed centre will have facilities that will cater to patients of all income groups at any point of time.

Following are excerpts from Suchismita Sahoo’s report in orissadiary.com.

… the idea to set up a state of art hospital at Bhubanheswar has recently been discussed between Chief Minster Mr Navin Patttanik and Mr Anil Agarwal, Chairman of the Vedanta Group in his last meeting, and off late the Vedanta management reviewed it seriously and Government has agreed to extend their support to make the best in class .

Realising the need of proper provision to handle the ever-increasing trauma cases, Vedanta has come forward to set up a 100-bed Level I, state-of-the-art Trauma Care Centre in Bhubaneswar. Revealing Vedanta’s plans regarding this novel initiative, the Vice President of Vedanta Group, Ajit Kumar Samal said, "This centre will be established on 10 acres of land involving a proposed investment of Rs 75 crore. As a Level I trauma care centre, it will have facilities that will cater to patients of all income groups at any point of time. We have handed over the responsibility of designing and construction to HOSMAC, an internationally reputed professional group involved in hospital making and research." Informing about the facilities that will be available at this centre, Mr. Vivek Desai, Head of HOSMAC Consultancy Services said, "The centre will have facilities like highest level of surgical care, specialists and equipment available 24 hours, education programme, preventive and outreach programs, program of research in trauma education and injury prevention. This will become a referral resource for communities in nearby regions. Both the clinical and non-clinical facilities will be of international standard. Besides the integrated trauma care facilities including General Medicine, General Surgery, Reconstructive surgery, Orthopedic surgery, Neurosurgery, Vascular surgery, Dermatology, Ophthalmology, Nephrology, ENT and Radiology and Imaging diagnostic services, this centre will also have Emergency Care Services, Ambulatory Care Services and blood bank. The proposed centre is expected to come out as an unmatched proposition in trauma and burns which will include bone bank and skin bank facility. Currently there is no same line dedicated trauma hospital in Orissa or even neighboring state like West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh or Andhra Pradesh." "The institute is the first level-I trauma and burns facility in Orissa and will act as leading trauma centre in the country. The bone bank and skin bank is an unparallel facility in the country which will be available here. The centre will be backed by an integrated life saving road and air ambulance service. The hospital will ensure maximum patient safety and quality of care and will operate in line of NABH / JCI standard," he adds. 

Following is an excerpt from a report in expressbuzz.com.

The Army is proposing to set up a full-fledged military hospital at Gopalpur in Ganjam district and upgrade Kalinga School in Bhubaneswar, which is up to Class V, to an Army Public School from next session. The proposal to set up six polyclinics has been agreed in principle by the Government of India and they are going to be functional shortly at Sambalpur, Angul, Dhenkanal, Puri, Koraput and Ganjam districts. All veterans should get their registration done through respective station headquarters to avail of the diagnostic facilities.

… Orissa will be the first state to have two Sainik Schools after opening of the Sainik School at Sambalpur for the people of Western Orissa. He said 70 acres of land has been identified for the school along the Goshal-Chiplima road and Sainik School Board will visit the place soon. This apart Sainik School, Bhubaneswar, has been given enhanced financial assistance for its upkeep and all existing scholarships have been doubled.

… Revealing that process of identification of 700 acres of land in Jharsuguda or Sundargarh district is on for location of an Army unit keeping in view rail and air connectivity, Jha said ad hoc Station Headquarters to meet the administrative requirements of the veterans in Sambalpur, Bhubaneswar, Balasore and Gopalpur have been upgraded into fullfledged Station Headquarters.A transit home in Bhubaneswar and a holiday home in Puri for serving soldiers as well as veterans are also on the cards, he added.

Following is from PIB http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=55153.  Orissa should learn from this and pursue health insitutes for its rural areas.

Under National Rural Health Mission[NRHM] an amount of Rs. 108.53 crores was sanctioned for the RCH Centre for Excellence, Tamil Nadu with the following components : 

1. Institute of Obstetric and Gynecology, Egmore

2. Institute of Government Kasthurba Gandhi Hospital, Triplicane

3. Training Centre for Health & FW Institute, Egmore

4. Training for Multipurpose Health Supervisor[F] Training Institute, Triplicane

The services for patients include out patient services, special clinics, diagnostic service, in patient care along with comprehensive emergency Obstetric & Neonatal care services and training for medical staff with renewed infrastructure and facilities. 

This information was given by Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today. 

DS/GK

A report in myiris states that: "About Rs 300 million is proposed to be spent by the company for the hospital project."

Following is an excerpt from a PTI report in Hindu Business Line.

Tata Steel is all set to establish a 200-bed hospital at Gobarghati in Kalinganagar industrial complex of Orissa’s Jajpur district.

About 10,000 people in the vicinity will benefit from the hospital as the steel giant has been extending healthcare facilities to people in its project as well as operational areas as part of periphery development and CSR plan, company sources said.

… For families affected in its green field steel project at Kalinganagar area, Tata Steel is setting-up the hospital in Gobarghati rehabilitation colony. The hospital building is under construction on a land of 4 acres and the civil part of the construction is almost over, the sources said.

When completed it would have round-the-clock service, pathology lab and outdoor complex. In a phase wise manner the number of beds in the hospital would increase to 200. Also to begin with, the hospital would have 4 to 5 doctors and required number of para-medical staff.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Economic Times.

As regards Orissa projects, where 80% of the employees are from the state, we have resolved not to go for any layoff. In fact, we are appointing more and more people in our projects here,” Vedanta Group chairman Anil Agarwal told reporters here on Saturday on the sidelines of his first meeting with Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik after the latter swept the just concluded polls.

Mr Agarwal claimed that Vedanta had already invested Rs 25,000 crore of its promised Rs 50,000 crore investment in the state. “The rest will be spent in the next two years”, he assured.

Meanwhile, the VAL had secured Stage I clearance for mining of bauxite in Niyamgiri hills to feed its Lanjigarh project. …

Mr Agarwal also stated that Vedanta had got coal block for its Jharsuguda smelter project and it will soon start coal mining. To a query on the University project, Mr Agarwal said: “We are going to start our university project very soon.”

Mr Agarwal hoped that the state government would soon pass the Vedanta University Bill in the Assembly. “We have already submitted all papers to the state government required for passing of the Vedanta University Bill. I hope it will be passed in the House shortly,” he added.

He informed that Anil Agarwal Foundation – which is setting up a world class university at Puri that includes a 1000-bed hospital – will have its extended centre in Bhubaneswar. “During the meeting, the CM was contemplating if we have can have an extended centre of our hospital project in Bhubaneswar to set up a trauma centre for burn and coma patients. We have in fact agreed for it,” he said.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Statesman.

The Hyderabad based Yashoda Cancer Institute has plans of setting up a hospital in Orissa and till such time it is committed to carry out health camps in the state by introducing its mobile cancer screening unit.

Addressing a Press conference here today, Mr Dheeraj Gorukanti, CEO of Yashoda Hospitals’ Group and Dr D Mohanty said the mobile cancer screening unit containing digital mammography, digital X-Ray, ultrasound scan, ECG room etc, all in a bus will be moving in rural areas of Orissa in May. The idea is to detect cancer at an early stage and educate the people. It is part of our CSR activities and presently the bus is moving around rural areas of Andhra Pradesh, they said.

Highlighting the facilities provided by Yashoda Cancer Institute, they said it offers RapidArc radiation therapy and is the only cancer institute in Asia to have this facility.

…  Yashoda Hospitals’ Group has over 1250 beds, 600 doctors and it attends to over 5 lakh patients per year, they said.

Following is from a report in Expressbuzz.com.

… a group of non-resident Oriyas have joined hands to set up Orissa’s first Nuclear Medicine Centre. The state-of-the-art facility under the name of Utkal Institute of Medical Sciences would be inaugurated here tomorrow.

Nuclear medicine has emerged as an important speciality not only for pinpointed diagnosis of complex diseases and conditions but also treatment procedures. It utilises radio isotopes produced in nuclear reactors for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. The dynamic and functional parameters along with the capability to detect substances at molecular levels has made it complementary to CT, MRI and USG-based scans of the body.

According to Director and Chief of Nuclear Medicine of the Institute Prof BK Das, the Nuclear medicine is useful in cardiology, endocrinology, neurology and nephro-urology and Oncology (cancer). It helps in making accurate diagnosis, assessing prognosis and selecting the most cost-effective therapy as well as monitoring of its efficacy.

While Nuclear medicine has become an integral part of healthcare in other countries, in India it is in its infancy. With a population of over 100 crores, the country has only 175 facilities, mostly in the private sector.

Orissa with over four crore people has no such facility and for investigations and therapy patients have to go to either Kolkata, Delhi and Chennai.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

Ayush Hospital and Trauma Care Limited has drawn up a plan to set up its second multi-speciality hospital in the city at an investment of about Rs 200 crore. The proposed hospital would be equipped with over 500 beds and it is expected to be operational by 2012.

… “We will shortly approach the Orissa government for allotting us 8-10 acres of land in or around the city for our proposed multi-speciality hospital. The construction work for this hospital is expected to resume next year.”

The new hospital will offer treatment across wide range of specialities like trauma care, oncology, neurosciences, gastroenterology, gastro intestinal surgery, spine and knee replacement surgery and cardiac care to name a few. The hospital would have separate and dedicated units for each of these specialities.

Acharya said that expansion of beds and other facilities could not be taken up at the existing Ayush Hospital in the city due to space constraints and the new multi-speciality hospital will be run by a pool of 1,000-1,500 professionals, including doctors and the paramedical staff.

He said, Ayush Hospital is prepared to reserve 15 per cent of the beds in the proposed multi-speciality hospital for BPL (below poverty line) families and extend free treatment to them if the state government provided support in the form of allotment of land. Ayush Hospital was also keen on imparting training to the government doctors at the sub-divisional level.

… Acharya pointed out that Ayush Hospital plans to set up a telemedicine facility in the hospital so that people staying in remote villages can have access to its doctors for consultation.

The existing 120-bed Ayush Hospital in the city offers treatment to patients like neurology, cardiology, nephrology, plastic surgery, urology, gastroenterology and spine surgery. The hospital’s objective is to reverse the exodus of patients from the state by offering the latest healthcare facilities to the people at an affordable cost.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Hindu.

"As India has been declared as diabetes capital of the world, a world class diabetes care facility is badly needed in the country," director of Cuttack Diabetes Research Foundation (CDRF), Dr Alok Kanungo, told reporters here.

Billed as the first of its kind in eastern India, the ultra modern Rs 15 crore Kanungo Institute of Diabetes Specialities (KIDS) would be inaugurated here by chief minister Naveen Patnaik on November 14, coinciding with the World Diabetes Day, he said.

World centres like Karolinska institute of Sweden which decides Nobel prize in medicine has joined hands with KIDS and CDRF to extend all technical support for advance research and training, said Kanungo.

"The institute will be equipped with latest equipment, trained manpower, fully computerised systems and everything which is required for diabetes management," he said adding it would be a boon for not only Orissa, home to over 30 lakh diabetics, but for entire eastern India.

Diabetics are 25 times more likely to turn blind, 17 times more prone to kidney ailment and three times more prone to heart disease, said Kanungo.

Kids would initially have a 100-bed hospital block, out patient block to handle 1000 patients per day for treatment, major and minor operation theatres, foot care, eyecare, kedney, cardiology, neurology, nutrition, physiotherapy and other departments.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Economic Times.

IT major Infosys today said it would invest Rs 500 crore in Orissa for setting up an SEZ in IT and ITeS sectors and take care of children’s mid-day-meal scheme and healthcare services.

“We have proposed to set up an IT SEZ in Bhubaneswar. The project will require 50 acres of land”, T V Mohandas Pai, Director HR, ER and administration and member of board of Infosys, told reporters here.

… Pai who had been funding mid-day meal for 10,000 school children in Nayagarh district, also agreed to extend the programme to Gajapati and Kandhamal districts, official sources said. Besides, 30,000 children in Puri district were also getting midday meal in Puri district.

“We have been spending Rs 6.50 per child to provide quality food,” Pai said pointing out that Infosys had spent Rs 5.5 crore towards its corporate social responsibility.

Shetty, who had been providing health care service to BPO staff, urged Patnaik to allot five-seven acres of land in the city for setting up a 1,000-bed heart hospital.

As the city was gradually becoming a IT hub of Eastern India with almost all major players opening their development centres, employees required quality heath service, Shetty said.

“We have also requestedthe state government to help Shetty set up a heart hospital here”, Pai told reporters.

Following is an excerpt from a report in New Indian Express.

Sparsh Hospital is planning to come up with a 250-bed set up in the City. The new project would house all super speciality facility under one roof.

Currently, Sparsh is an 80-bed hospital with a modern OTS, ICU, dialysis unit, casualty, pathology and radiology units.

Promoted by a team of young professionals and cancer specialist Dr Ghanashyam Biswas, the hospital has tied up with a number of corporate houses and is running a series of programmes like free health check-up camps.