Longrangty Longchar
Dimapur | October 29
In back to back inaugurations Nagaland Governor K Shankaranarayanan today rolled out two major development initiatives—a health centre and an education hub—in the commercial capital of the State, Dimapur. The health centre, popularly known by the name Referral Hospital was inaugurated after much delay. The health centre had been conceived way back in 1985, when the Government of India sanctioned Rs 34.04 crores for a 500-bedded Referral Hospital. The construction works commenced in the year 1989, however due to various circumstances the development and construction of the ambitious project was severely hampered. By contrast, the inauguration of the Nagaland University School of Engineering & Technology and School of Management Studies came by at a much faster pace.
Nevertheless if one goes by the credentials of the Christian Medical College, Vellore and Immanuel Hospital, Delhi, then quality health services may have landed in Nagaland with the inauguration of the first phase of the Christian Institute of Health Sciences and Research (CIHSR) today. The first phase of the CIHSR has the capacity of 115-beds and would have facilities OPD, casualty ward etc. There are plans to increase the capacity by fifty beds every year, said Dr TM Lotha State Health Minister.
Dr Varghese Philip, Chairmen, Board of Directors of CISHR Society, Dimapur said that much would be demanded from the doctors and staffs in the institute to provide quality health services to the patients. He disclosed that world-class equipments have been brought in to develop the CIHSR infrastructure, like drainage, sanitation, lightings and that sophisticated and state of the art medical equipments to treat patients have also been installed. He hoped that the CIHSR would be ‘a tertiary hospital of excellence’. Dr Philip said that the Institute has plans to become one of the pioneering medical centers in the field of research into health sciences. Furthermore, the CIHSR hopes to introduce several Post Graduate courses in medical sciences, and in four-year time from now, the institute hopes to admit the first batch of students into the college, Dr Philip disclosed.
State Governor, Shankaranarayanan, while congratulating the state government for inaugurating the CIHSR, urged Chief Minster Neiphiu Rio, and prayed to God that the Institute is soon upgraded to 300 beds so that it is eligible to get the status of a medical college. “The people of the state are looking up at this institution to deliver what it has been promised and to relieve them from the problems and the ever-expensive ways of seeking health care in hospitals in distant places like Guwahati, Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Vellore and beyond,” said Shankaranarayanan.
He said that the Institute would give an opportunity to the unemployed doctors of the state to get the chance to work in a professional environment.
State Chief Minister, Neiphiu Rio, said that the ‘long cherished’ dream to give the people the best there is in the field of medical science has come true. Rio said that the DAN Government, in its endeavour to provide to address the health needs of the people, have made concerted efforts to achieve an optimal level of health standards. Rio said that today’s inauguration of the first phase of the CIHSR, will enable the common man to have access to the best in the field of curative medicine at an affordable rate. He also praised the state government partnership with the CMC Vellore and EHA in developing the health services in the state. “I am confident that this partnership will go a long way in addressing the health needs of the people of Nagaland and beyond,” said Rio.
However, Rio assured that though today’s inauguration of the first phase of CIHSR is a significant leap towards providing quality health care, many more facilities are yet to follow; a school for children, a nursing college and a medical college, which are part and parcel of the project. Besides, Rio said that the CIHSR, when fully functional, would have a capacity of more than 600 beds.
It may be mentioned that the present DAN Government entered into a public private partnership with Emmanuel Hospital Association in January 2005 and again with the Christian Medical College (CMC) Vellore in May 2005. The Institute was handed over to the CISHR Society on March 1, 2006, with an understanding that it will be fully revitalized in 3 years time. However, the Institute is on a lease for a period of thirty years.
State Health Minister, Dr TM Lotha said that after the expiry of the lease period, the CIHSR can be reverted back to the state government ‘if it so wishes’. During the last eighteen years ever since the construction work began, it is learnt that an estimated amount of Rs 200 crores have been spent on the project so far.
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