New Burari hospital bed capacity increased to 768

◗ Over 1,700 new posts to be created for making hospital in North Delhi functional, says govt

The Delhi Cabinet on Tuesday approved nearly four time increase in the capacity of the under- construction hospital in Burari. The Delhi Cabinet, in its meeting chaired by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, approved the health department’s proposal for the revised estimate of ` 265.80 crore for increasing the capacity to 768 beds from the earlier proposal of 200 beds at the upcoming facility.

According to the Delhi government’s Public Works Department, 65 per cent of the entire work and 85 per cent of the hospital structure has been completed so far. “The project has been reviewed and it was decided that some structural adjustment is required to accommodate more number of beds in this new hospital, which will provide healthcare to the residents of North Delhi,” the government said in a statement. This new hospital is a seven- storey structure and the latest proposal of having 568 more beds ( 768 now in place of the earlier 200 beds) will be achieved with a revised estimate of ` 265. 80 crore in place of Rs 200 crore estimated earlier. Some of the salient features of the under- construction building include a barrier free environment to cater to the needs of physically challenged persons for which specific changes in building designs have been done.

The modern building with all latest facilities is energy efficient and is a green building aimed at to reducing dependence on electric lighting and air conditioning.

“Approximately 1,700 posts will have to be created for making this new hospital functional,” the government added.

The Cabinet has also approved the Health Department’s proposal to double the core incentives for the Asha workers from ` 1,500 to ` 3,000. Apart from the core incentive, added incentives in different identified categories have also been doubled.

“The previous financial enhancement for ASHA workers was provided in February 2016 and the Cabinet approved the need for further enhancement given the increase in cost of living. In order to support ASHAs during pregnancy, it has been decided to provide them a maternity benefit of Rs 2,000 per month for a period of six months during the perinatal period,” the statement added.

There is one ASHA for every 2,000 population ( 400 households). As in October 2017, there were 5210 ASHAs in place and 131 ASHA units with around 336 participating health centres.