The VSS Medical College and Hospital. Telegraph picture

Sambalpur, Nov. 21: A six-storey super-specialty wing will be built in the Veer Surendra Sai Medical College and Hospital complex in Burla.

Five new departments will function from the unit, along with the existing five departments. The government will spend Rs 150 crore in the project.

The departments, which will be added, are gastroenterology, endocrinology, clinical haematology, plastic surgery and paediatric surgery. Besides these five departments, other existing departments such as nephrology, urology, neurology, neurosurgery and cardiology will also be upgraded. The super-specialty wing will house these 10 departments.

Official sources said Rs 80 crore would be spent on the construction of the new block and the remaining amount will be spent on procuring equipment. While the central government will contribute the 70 per cent of the total budget, the state government will meet the 30 per cent expense. The All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Bhubaneswar will be the institute’s nodal centre.

“The project will be implemented under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana. The detailed project report has been submitted and the central government has also approved the project. The funds have already been sanctioned,” said nodal officer Sanjaya Mohapatra, who is also the assistant professor of the college’s urology department.

“The land for the building has already been identified. The tender will be floated shortly. The super-specialty block will accommodate 60 ICU beds and 180 general beds,” said Mohapatra.

“The project will be a boon for the people. Since we don’t have many departments in the hospital, patients have to go outside for treatment. Moreover, once the existing departments are upgraded, the patients will be able to avail themselves of better facilities,” said Mohapatra.

He was hopeful that the work on the project would start within six months. “I hope that the new unit will be operational within two years,” he said.

“Besides catering to at least 10 districts in west Odisha, people from states such as Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, too, depend on the 1,000-bed government-run Veer Surendra Sai Medical College and Hospital in Burla. The new wing and the upgrade will definitely help the patients,” said local resident Bibhuti Panda.