Construction of 850-bedded multispeciality hospital, medical college in Chikali gets go ahead

The General Body of PCMC has given its nod for the project of the biggest multispecialty hospital on Wednesday. The hospital will have 850 beds and it will be built up in an area of two hectares in Chikali.

After completion, the new hospital is going to be highly effective in lessening the overload of patients at Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital (YCMH). PCMC-run YCMH receives numerous patients arriving from Khed, Junnar, Ambegaon, Maval, etc. Being the only available public health option in the area YCMH had been facing huge pressure every day.

As per the latest report by Pune Mirror, the new hospital is the brainchild of BJP MLA Mahesh Landge. He claimed that the plan of setting up a hospital like this always had been in his mind since his election in 2014.

Former mayor and BJP Corporator, Rahul Jadhav also made suggestions regarding the hospital to the local body. However, the planning took proper shape after the district administration reportedly stepped in the matter.

While commenting on the matter, MLA Landge told Pune Mirror, "We have been already running the Medical College for Post Graduate Institute at YCMH well and to upgrade the facilities and have good specialized doctors we have decided to start Medical college in the new hospital. We will be having 850 beds as per the government norms."

He further added, "The area is huge and we have decided that in the future, we will come up with a Nursing and Physiotherapy college at the same facility as well. It will take around a year-and-a-half to complete the work. But this is going to help the future generations to avail all necessary healthcare facilities."

Meanwhile PCMC Chief, Shravan Hardikar informed, "Currently, more than 50 percent of the rural population comes to the PCMC-run hospital for healthcare treatment. With the increase in population, there will be an increased need for healthcare facilities as well. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we learned that it is always good to have adequate healthcare infrastructure. In the days to come, we will need more hospitals and doctors and the new hospital will be able to cater to the increasing need of healthcare facilities."

The decision of PCMC has been welcomed by the Secretary of Moshi-Chikhali Housing Society Federation, Sanjeevan Sangale as well. Agreeing on the fact that the entire population of the twin cities couldn't possibly depend on YCMH, he told the daily, "The cities of Pimpri-Chinchwad have developed by leaps and bounds, and along with it, the population here has also increased manifold times. Mostly people from the extended villages of Pimpri-Chinchwad come in huge numbers at YCMH to avail treatment, due to which the hospital is always overcrowded."

He added, "During the COVID-19 outbreak, everyone learned that the healthcare infrastructure has to be upgraded and we need more hospitals like YCMH. The new hospital will help lakhs of citizens to avail quality healthcare and that too free of cost."