Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Jan 10: The ambitious plan to convert the decades-old Capital Hospital into a postgraduate (PG) institute for medical studies seems destined to remain on paper with no decision being taken on this score at a recent meeting.
The state government gave its final nod for the project in May 2014, according to hospital sources. The total cost of the project has been estimated at `Rs 228 crore, with the state committing to provide `Rs 82 crore in the initial phase for the administrative building that would come up inside the hospital campus.
“The proposed institute is a huge project and it will take time. The blueprint of the project is also in the process of getting approval. In the recently-held meeting, it has been decided to prepare a detailed project report for the institute. We are preparing it,” said hospital superintendent Binod Mishra. The proposed institute would have around 50 PG seats.
“The institute would act as a booster dose for the health sector of the state, which is suffering from an acute shortage of specialist doctors. We will intensify the work and hopefully the project would be commissioned in the next two years,” said Mishra.
“With the upgradation of the hospital into a PG institute, we would be able to meet the shortage of both general physicians and specialist doctors,” a hospital official said.
Authorities are also hopeful that the construction of the administrative building required for the institute will start in two-three months.