: The Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) Hospital at Bibinagar will commence functioning at its full capacity within three to four months, Health Minister C. Lakshma Reddy said.
Once operational the 600-bed hospital, being developed on 155 acres, will be able to address medical needs of people in 21 specialities akin to the NIMS in the State Capital, he added. A trauma care centre will also be set up at the hospital, the Health Ministersaid.
Replying to queries during Question Hour in the Assembly on Friday, the Minister said that the Government had resolved pending issues relating to the construction with the contractor, and the much-delayed project is nearing completion.
A proposal to set up a medical college attached to the hospital was under active consideration of the Government, he added.
The hospital’s construction began in 2006,with an estimated investment of Rs. 100 crore. It was hurriedly inaugurated by the then Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ahead of 2009 elections, but the construction of the hospital was neglected after Congress took over the reins for the second time. The hospital has been extending out patient services ever since with around 120 patients availing the services on a daily basis.
Replying to another query, the Minister said that the Government plans to add 30 more hearse vehicles to the 50 being operated in order to transport bodies of the patients who die while undergoing treatment in the government hospitals. The Government is planning to replace ambulances operating under the 108 scheme and 30 of the replaced vehicles would be converted into hearse vehicles, he added.
In addition the Minister said that plans were afoot, under the Amma Odi scheme, to start operating vehicles to ferry women, who give birth to children in Government hospitals, to their native places. Efforts were also on to launch two-wheeler ambulances and the Government was actively considering extending hearse vehicle facilities to patients admitted in corporate hospitals under the Arogya Sri scheme, he added.
