Siliguri calling

Siliguri, Dec. 18: Siliguri is all set to become the healthcare hub of the region and beyond.

At least three Calcutta-based medical institutions will be setting up hospitals or medical centres in Siliguri over the next three years.

The largest project, and by far the most advanced in terms of planning and construction, is the 200-bed multi-speciality hospital to be set up by TM Medicare Pvt. Ltd, whose sister concern already runs the 57-bed ILS Clinic in Salt Lake, Calcutta.

The G.P. Birla/C.K. Birla group, which runs the BM Birla Heart Research Centre, Calcutta, and the Calcutta Medical Research Institute, plans to set up a 50-bed tertiary cardiac care centre here. The Peerless Hospital and B.K. Roy Research Centre, on their part, wants to expand their healthcare services in north Bengal by setting up a base in Siliguri.

To come up on a 2.5-acre plot off National Highway 31 opposite Uttorayon and next to the IT Park, the TM Medicare hospital is expected to start functioning in one-and-a-half to two years? time.

?Land has already been allotted and construction will start as soon as it is handed over,? said S.L. Choraria, a senior executive of the company, over phone from Calcutta. Carrying out assessment studies and architectural planning have already been done, he said.

?An expert group has done the survey and the report says there is need for specialised treatment here. The hospital will have high-tech cardiac, surgery, dialysis and trauma care units, as well as modern diagnostic facilities like MRI and CT scan,? Choraria said.

?In the first phase, 125 beds will be commissioned,? said Choraria, adding that the project cost was around Rs 30 crore. ?It will be a patient-friendly hospital and will cater to all categories of people.?

With up to 200 patients from north Bengal and the Northeast being treated every month at BM Birla and CMRI hospitals, a tertiary care hospital in Siliguri will be profitable, feels Rupak Barua, director of growth and development of the twin hospitals. ?Specialised treatment can then be carried out here instead of taking the patients to Calcutta and beyond, thus cutting down on delays.?

He said talks have been initiated with various parties after the decision was taken two months ago to set up a unit here. The 50-bed hospital may take three years? time. ?But we are willing to set up a cath lab where angiogram can be carried out as soon as possible in collaboration with a local entrepreneur,? Barua said.

Meanwhile, the Emerald Group, a Calcutta-based single-window consultancy and turnkey organisation with several diverse branches under it, has a proposal for a huge 500-bed, super speciality hospital in Siliguri. The UK-based Dolphin Group, which has an asset base of US$ 65 billion ?has principally agreed to finance the project, apart from the cost of land, infrastructure and pre-operative expenditures?, said Suman Dasgupta, a partner of the Emerald group.