Level II Cancer Hospital, 500-bedded additional unit in SMCH, new Civil Hospital in Silchar; Himanta Biswa Sarma makes massive announcements

“It is an opportunity that the DC Cachar and Principal Silchar Medical College and Hospital must grab with both hands,” said health minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma after inaugurating the 40-bedded newly built ICU.

“We all will remember pandemic as a dark period that took away many lives. But in adversity lies opportunity. We have made a plan to have 1000 ICUs in the public sector hospitals in Assam. Today we have inaugurated a 40-bedded one and by January 1, 2021, we will add 60 more ventilators making it a 100-bedded ICU. To keep it operational we will recruit one set (1 Doctor, 1 Nurse, 1 Technician + 1) for every 15 beds. So this is an employment opportunity too and now it is over to DC and Principal to grab it,” said the minister.

Silchar Medical College and Hospital functioned during the pandemic with 16 beds in ICU. The upgrade was the need of the hour said the minister. However, he said that maintaining this infrastructure is a collective responsibility of all the stakeholders including the general public.

The minister lauded the efforts of the engineers in PWD and congratulated them for building the ICU in record time to his satisfaction. He has also appreciated the efforts put by the district administration and deputy commissioner Keerthi Jalli.

Enhancement of the ICU is not the only announcement the Health and PWD minister made today. “The old hospital building has got dilapidated and though I receive many images on WhatsApp of toilets and etc. there is very little that we can do. Today, we have laid the foundation stone to build a 500-bed state of the art hospital. The contract of the Rs 90 crore project has been handed over to an able construction company – NCC and it will be ready in two years,” announced Sarma.

He added once the new building is ready operations will be shifted to the new one and the old one will be renovated and converted into a 300-bed superspeciality hospital. The minister emphasised on the need to improve the government sector healthcare and said that his department is wedded to it. “I have been told by the DC of Cachar that the Civil Hospital will celebrate its 100th anniversary. To mark the occasion, we have decided that we will demolish the old construction and create a nice 300-bedded hospital there. We will leave a part of the old construction as heritage. For this, the government is willing to spend Rs 40 to 50 crore,” added the minister.

The newly built Civil hospital, minister said will operate as an associate hospital of SMCH. That will enable Civil to get service from the students of SMCH. He said the intake in the Medical College will be increased from 100 to 150 and for that the government has sanctioned six projects worth Rs 44 crore.

Drawing parallel to Guwahati Medical College and Hospital, Sarma said, “People is Guwahati say they want to go to GMCH as they do not trust the private hospitals. Even patient who has the propensity to afford treatment in any hospital prefers general ward of GMCH and such is the reputation of public healthcare. It is true in other districts of Assam too.” He said he wants to establish a similar image in Silchar too.

Sarma has also announced that a modern Cancer Hospital will be built in Silchar. The project will be sanctioned by Assam Cares, a fund created by the government of Assam in partnership with Tata Trust. “This will be a level II Cancer hospital which will support Chemotherapy, Surgical Oncology, radiology, and will be equipped with class one piece of machinery. The hospital will be ready in the next 24 months,” added Sarma.

It is often stated that the government of Assam ignores the plight of Barak Valley while it continues to develop Bramhaputra Valley and especially Guwahati. The minister said he is aware of this perception. “My principle is that if I get something for Guwhati, I give the same to Silchar. The amount of money sanctioned for Silchar is second to no other city in Assam,” said Sarma.

He, however, threw the ball in local people’s representative’s court. “Now, Rs 50 crores are sanctioned for construction of roads in Guwahati and the same is done in Silchar. If in Guwahati nice roads are built from that money and in Silchar, the roads are not good then you will have to seek answers from local MP and MLAs. There is no point in blaming the PWD minister,” said Sarma.

He alerted the residents of Cachar district and said that it is important to remember that we are still in the middle of pandemic and until we have vaccines, cautiousness is the only option.