Delhi’s Lok Nayak Hospital to get new 1,500-bed block; to become city’s biggest hospital

In addition, 300 beds will be added in the existing building, taking the hospital’s bed strength to 3,800 in 2.5 years

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday laid the foundation stone of a 1,500-bed medical block at Lok Nayak Hospital.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal speaks at the foundation stone laying function for a 1500-bed medical block at the LNJP Hospital in New Delhi on Friday. (PTI)

In addition, 300 beds will be added in the existing building, taking the hospital’s bed strength to 3,800 in 2.5 years. This will be the biggest hospital in Delhi and one of the biggest in India.

The upcoming building will be a 22-storey facility that will have modular operation theatres, several intensive care unit beds, and all diagnostic facilities under one roof. The project is likely to be completed in just over two years, Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain said.

“The chief minister had a vision of providing world-class medical facilities to the people of Delhi and this is a step in that direction. Usually, not even a 50-bed hospital is made in such a small plot of land, but we have decided to create a 1,500-bed facility. It will be a 25-floor block – three levels below the ground, and 22 above. The entire facility will be centrally air-conditioned. The patients will not have to go from one wing to the other; all the services will be available under the same roof. There will be OTs, ICUs, wards, consultation rooms, MRI service, everything,” said Jain.

Not only will the facility be “world-class”, the CM said, it will be economical too. “The cost per bed for this project is just Rs 30 lakh. The total cost of the project comes to Rs 450 crore. In comparison, if you look at any government hospitals under construction – by Central or any state governments – the per bed cost comes to Rs 1.25 -1.5 crore. Plus, all the projects in Delhi in the last five years have been completed before time, with money saved. Mostly, the government projects get delayed by years and overshoot the budget by crores,” said Kejriwal at the ceremony.

The chief minister added that in the last five years, his government had worked towards improving the living standards of the people of Delhi. “The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has completed projects on time and saved cost as well, which is then utilised for the betterment of the city,” he said.

The ministers also lauded the staff of the hospital for taking care of Covid-19 patients and paid respect to the sacrifice of the doctors and technicians who lost their lives to Covid-19.

“The pandemic has had a cascading effect on all of us and I salute to all those who have worked hard and put their lives at stake to serve the nation. Delhi government is the only government which has given ex-gratia of Rs 1 crore to all those who sacrificed their lives during this pandemic. We can’t bring back the heroes but we can help them in whatever way possible,” he said.

He also urged people to participate in the government’s latest campaign to combat vehicular pollution – ‘Red Light On, Gaadi Off’. The aim of the campaign is to encourage people to switch off the engines of their vehicles while waiting for the traffic signals to turn green.

“The new building will have 34 modular operation theatres and will add another 150 intensive care unit beds. In addition to that, it will have state-of-the-art research laboratories and teaching centres. All diagnostic facilities will also be available in the same block,” said Dr Suresh Kumar, medical director, Lok Nayak hospital.