Pune: On the lines of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC)’s Kharadi and Aundh hospitals, local corporators of Yerawada now want the Rajiv Gandhi Hospital to be run on outsource basis. The civic administration favours this proposal as there is lack of manpower to run a multi-specialty hospital.
Shiv Sena corporators Shweta Chavan and Avinash Salve submitted this proposal to the administration to hand over the hospital to a private medical institute or charitable trust to run a multi-specialty hospital. They claimed the hospital is spread over 1.2 lakh square ft area. However, only OPD and maternity home services are being run and the rest of the hospital is empty. The corporators said if this hospital is being run by a medical institute, it will be possible to offer multi-specialty service at government rates. The corporators claimed this will benefit poor people from that part of the city to avail medical facilities at cheaper rates.
While speaking to Sakal Times, an official from the PMC Health Department said, “We already have two hospitals on Private Public Partnership (PPP) model and they are working well. Earlier, we tried to give the entire hospital to a private player to run but it failed. So, we have adopted PPP model. Now, PPP model hospitals are located in Kharadi and Aundh and another is in the process in Bopodi to provide eye specialty service. It is the first such kind of specialty facility for corporation hospitals.”
He said, “We don’t have skilled manpower to run hospitals with different medical services. Right now, most of the hospitals are maternity homes and providing OPD service. Only Kamala Nehru Hospital has maximum medical facilities. There are three more hospitals lying idle. One is in Hadapsar and another in Wanawadi and in Sinhagad Road area.”
At present, the PMC has given permission to a private medical institute to give facility at government rates under Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) to their two hospitals. One is Kamala Nehru Hospital - Cardiac Cath Lab and Dialysis Centre and another is Pote Hospital - MRI facility.
In Bopodi, the PMC has given its hospital building for a eye hospital and on the same lines, the PMC has given Kharadi Hospital building to a private player to run a hospital. In Aundh, a private player is running a hospital in a PMC constructed hospital building.
Dalvi Hospital model failed
The PMC introduced the first such experiment in 2007 in Shivajinagar to run this hospital through a private player. The PMC constructed a large building for the hospital at a cost of over Rs 3 crore and capacity of 200 beds. The PMC had given Dalvi Hospital to a private doctor, Dr Phadnis to run in 2007. After seven years, they pulled out unable to bear expenses.
As per the contract, the PMC handed over the hospital premises without any rent for a period of 29 years, with PMC providing free electricity, water and maintenance. In return, Phadnis Clinic is supposed to provide certain basic services to citizens at the same rates being charged by the PMC along with additional specialised services.
