6 years on, multi-specialty hospitals yet to take off

More than six years after the Odisha government announced its ambitious affordable healthcare project to provide quality treatment at remote areas, establishment of multi-specialty hospitals in districts having poor health infrastructure continue to be a distant dream.

- HEMANT KUMAR ROUT @ Bhubaneswar

MORE than six years after the Odisha government announced its ambitious affordable healthcare project to provide quality treatment at remote areas, establishment of multi-specialty hospitals in districts having poor health infrastructure continue to be a distant dream.

Despite being billed as the country's largest public-private partnership (PPP) initiative in the health sector, the project has suffered inordinate delays, primarily due to lukewarm response from promoters and then land allotment hurdles.

During the Make-in-Odisha conclave in November 2018, the state government had unveiled plans to set up multi-speciality hospitals at 25 locations with an investment of ₹1,300 crore in PPP mode. This would have added 2,900 new hospital beds. Considered a model for expanding healthcare into smaller towns, the project was expected to boost access to quality treatment in under-served districts.