Bhubaneswar, June 3: Capital Hospital is set for expansion with a proposal for the addition of around 100 beds. The proposal is mainly about the expansion of the casualty and gynaecology wards.

The casualty bed strength is supposed to be increased to 50 from 10. The gynaecology ward, which now has 100 beds on two floors, will get an additional floor and 50 more beds.

The expansion process of the intensive care unit and the sick newborn care unit is on and hospital sources said it was likely to be ready soon. The expansion process includes increasing the bed strength to 16 from five in the intensive care unit and 24 from 16 in the sick newborn care unit.

A proposal in this regard has been sent to the director, medical education and training, for approval. Sources in the department said the public works department had given an estimation of nearly Rs 1 crore for expansion of the casualty and gynaecology wards.

Set up in 1954, the hospital is the major government-run facility in the capital with a bed strength of 547. Once the expansion proposal gets the approved, the bed strength will increase to nearly 650. “Considering the fact that nearly 2,000 patients visit the hospital everyday, not only from the city, but also from Puri, Khurda and Nayagarh districts, expansion has become a necessity. We have forwarded the proposal to the director, medical education and training. Once it is approved, work will be initiated on a priority basis,” said chief medical officer of Capital Hospital Sudarshan Dash.

“In most cases, it is very difficult to find a bed. The lack of sufficient beds force us to have patients lie on the floor,” said Sarojini Mahanta, the relative of a patient. Sources in the hospital said more than 100 patients have to be treated on the floor because of the lack of enough beds.

Capital Hospital has been under scanner for its poor sanitation facilities. On October 22 last year, an advocate team visited the hospital and expressed dissatisfaction in this regard. The hospital also lacks fire-safety measures.

“One can spot garbage dumped on the hospital premises. The authorities must ensure a clean atmosphere for the patients,” said Gangadhar Nayak, a relative of a patient from Nayagarh.

Also, a blood component separation unit in the Red Cross blood bank on the premises of Capital Hospital has been lying defunct for the past four months. But, the authorities are yet to make the separation unit functional. The posts of five doctors are also lying vacant at the hospital.

However, hospital authorities said they had already intimated the director, medical education and training to fill the posts. “We have started a process to procure equipment to make the blood component separation unit functional,” said Sudarshan Dash.