A 150-bed neurology hospital, being set up by the Calcutta Municipal Corporation and the Institute of Neuro Science at Mullickbazar, will start functioning from April 2008.

The Neuro-Hospital Trust of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK, will train the staff at the hospital in using modern gadgets to treat neurological diseases. An agreement for the partnership has been signed by the institute and the UK-based trust.

The construction of the 10-storeyed hospital — the civic body’s first joint venture in specialised healthcare — is almost complete.

Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who had laid the foundation of the Rs 40-crore project, is likely to inaugurate the hospital.

Of the 150 beds, 20 will be reserved for free treatment and 30 for treatment at cost price. For the rest, the service will be charged at the market rate.

Leonard Raymond Fenwick of the Neuro-Hospital Trust and R.P. Sengupta of National Neuroscience Centre last week gave a Powerpoint presentation on the project to mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya and municipal commissioner Alapan Bandyopadhyay. Doctors from various medical colleges and private hospitals in the city attended the presentation.

Sengupta later said the dedicated neurology hospital will be the first of its kind in eastern India.

“The city is badly in need of specialised hospitals, as patients from the Northeast and Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh come to Calcutta for treatment,” said Sengupta.

“Neuroscience has taken giant strides in respect of treatment and technology in Europe. It’s an opportunity for us to partner the project and help introduce modern methods and technology in Calcutta,” said Fenwick.

Funds for the project have been collected from individuals and institutions in India and abroad. “So far, Rs 30 crore has been collected,” said Sengupta.

“We have a plan to upgrade our heathcare networks in the city by involving private parties,” said the mayor.