The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) hospitals will soon start providing emergency care, general medicine, general surgery, and oral and dental services for the first time. These services are mandated to be provided in civic hospitals as per the Indian Public Health Standards, 2022.
The civic body will soon float a tender at an estimated cost of ₹413.71 crore to upgrade and modernise the civic health infrastructure in the city. The project will cover a total of 19 health facilities in the city. The State cabinet approved the proposal for the same on January 16. The proposal had been pending for nearly a year now.
Under this package, in addition to introducing these new services in the hospitals, 14 maternity homes and Community Health Centres (CHC) will be upgraded to First Referral Units (FRU). According to the BBMP, 14 maternal homes will add 30 more beds each, and five other referral hospitals will add 50 additional beds each. Thus, the total number of beds will increase to 1,122 from the existing 852.
The BBMP official further explaining the range of upgradation said the buildings of 19 health facilities will be modernised, modular operation theatres will be set up, labour rooms will be given a face-lift, laboratories will be established, and additional wards will be set up. Ambulances equipped with advanced life support will be bought, and necessary electric works will be carried out, including setting up of 100 KV transformer and 100 Kva generator. Besides these, hospitals will also be provided with new furniture.
Suralkar Vikas Kishor, Special Commissioner (Health), BBMP, termed the project “ambitious” and said the civic body will soon call tenders for the same. “This project will expand healthcare services that will be provided at BBMP hospitals in the city,” he said. The Hindu