500 beds in revamped Civil Hospital: Officials

The proposed new building of the Civil Hospital in Civil Lines is likely to have six storeys and 500 beds, along with staff quarters and two levels of underground park, according to officials of the district health department.

A proposal detailing the same was conveyed to the state government by the department on Wednesday.

The current capacity of the hospital, the largest among public hospitals in the district, is of 200 beds.

Built in 1967, the hospital has been in a dire need of repair. The hospital staff said they had, on several instances, witnessed chunks of concrete falling off the ceiling, resulting in injuries to people.

The Public Works Department (PWD) had, in 2017, stated in a report that the building wasn’t fit to be used, and needed immediate renovation.

“A proposal was sent to the office of the Director General of Health Services, Haryana, on Wednesday. Plans of increasing the capacity of the hospital have been in place for long. The hospital land can’t be expanded as it is located in the busy Civil Lines, hence, the hospital will have to be expanded vertically and the number of floors will be increased,” said Dr Sanjay Narula, a senior health department official.

However, no date has been fixed yet for the start or the completion of the construction, said officials.

Officials had earlier said the work should begin as soon as the departments are shifted, but said they couldn’t confirm a date as of now. Dr BK Rajora, civil surgeon, didn’t respond to calls or texts seeking comment.

Meanwhile, the main building of the Civil Hospital was vacated completely on Wednesday to make way for the renovations. Departments from the Civil Lines were moved to the government hospital in Sector 10 and a government polyclinic in Sector 31 over the last month.

Currently, only the administrative offices and the district tuberculosis centre are operating from the Civil Lines.

First Published: Jun 14, 2019 03:47 IST