North Bengal Medical College and Hospital. File picture

Siliguri, Feb. 6: The North Bengal Medical College and Hospital will get a grant of Rs 150 crore to upgrade it to super-speciality status, the Union health ministry has informed the hospital.

Apart from the North Bengal Medical College, the other health facilities selected for the super-speciality status under the Prime Minister Swasthya Suraksha Yojna are the Malda Medical College and Hospital and the Bankura Sammilini Medical College.

“A fund of Rs 150 crore will be allotted to each of the three medical colleges, of which Rs 120 crore will be given by the Union ministry and the remaining Rs 30 crore will be given by the state government. The funds are supposed to be utilised for setting up infrastructure and procuring necessary equipment,” said Anup Kumar Roy, the principal of NBMCH.

“This is a part of a countrywide project of the Union ministry of health and family welfare under the Prime Minister Swasthya Suraksha Yojna. They have chosen 39 hospitals across the country where super-speciality facilities will be set up…. The Union ministry intimated the state health department of the decision in a letter earlier last month and we, too, have received a copy of the letter,” Roy said.

The principal said the funds would be utilised for setting up a separate building and procuring sophisticated equipment for the new facility.

The authorities of the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital also have plans to introduce super-speciality surgery — such as neurology, cardio-thoracic and plastic surgery — at the hospital.

“Right now, we offer super-speciality services like urology, cardiology, nephrology and neuro-medicine here. However, we are interested in conducting super-speciality surgeries for neuro, cardio- thoracic, paediatric and plastic surgery at the hospital,” the principal said.

“Now that NBMCH has been selected (for the super-speciality status), a team from the Union health ministry is likely to visit the hospital within the next two months. We will discuss our plans for super-speciality surgeries with them when they visit NBMCH,” Roy said.

“Poor people who visit NBMCH for treatment will benefit a lot if we start such surgeries. We refer patients requiring such surgeries to medical colleges in Calcutta. This causes inconvenience as well as a lot of expenditure. Some of the patients get the surgeries done at private clinics where the charges are high,” he added.