U'khand to set up mobile hospitals under PPP

The Uttarakhand government has invited bids from private players to set up 13 specialised mobile hospitals under the PPP mode keeping in view the hilly terrain of the state.

This is the first time that private players are being invited in the health sector with each mobile hospital being set up with an investment of Rs 1 crore.

So far, nearly 130 bids have been received by the state government with Health Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank saying that the government would only entertain those companies which it thinks are the best. “We will give the task of setting up mobile hospitals to only those companies that we think are the best,” Nishank said.

In addition to this, the government is also open to inviting private players in setting up super-specialty hospitals in the state. “We have received few proposals from private companies to set up new hospitals,” said Nishank without elaborating further.

The mobile hospitals fitted with state-of-the-art medical equipments would cover all the 13 districts with the health department committing itself to provide best medical facilities at the doorsteps of the people.

These mobile hospitals would mainly take care of trauma cases. Every year nearly 300 to 400 persons are killed and thousands receive injuries due to road mishaps. These hospitals would also be linked with the latest “dial 108” scheme of the state government

Under the “dial 108” scheme, the health department seeks to provide relief to people in distress in Uttarakhand, a popular tourist destination with Nishank claiming that the scheme is becoming very useful in the hill state with tough terrains and long serpentine roads.

Each mobile hospital will have specialised teams of doctors and surgeons and can be rushed on the distress call. Nishank claimed that Uttarakhand would be the first state in the country to have hospitals on wheels.

The government has also decided to build 20 trauma centres across the state particularly along the Chardham yatra route. An amount of Rs 100 crore will be spent for these trauma centres.