GUWAHATI, March 22 � The long-awaited District Hospital of Kamrup Metro at Sonapur will open its doors for patients from the first part of April, fulfilling a long-cherished desire of the people of the district and nearby places.
Health department sources told The Assam Tribune that the hospital would have 200 beds and a minimum of 33 full-time doctors and 90 staff nurses as per Indian Public Health Standard specifications.
�The project was funded by the NRHM and is ready. The hospital is expected to start functioning from the first half of next month,� a senior official told this newspaper.
He added, �There were district civil hospitals in all districts except those where medical colleges were functioning. Now, with the setting up of the District Hospital at Sonapur, this vacuum will be filled.�
The official said that in the area between Guwahati and Nagaon there was a lack of proper state-of-the-art and specialty healthcare centres and the District Hospital would come in handy in addressing this problem.
�There will be specialists from various departments posted in the hospital, including AYUSH. In addition to the sanctioned staff, the NRHM may also keep some more doctors and other staff,� said the official.
Meanwhile, speaking on the issue, Dr Arun Baruah, Sub-Divisional Medical and Health Officer of Sonapur, said the District Hospital has a modern morgue to keep six bodies.
A District Early Intervention Centre under the RBSK, which will be a �hospital under a hospital� to look after all preventive and curable measures for children between 0-18 years of age, will be available at the hospital. In addition to that, a Nutrition and Rehabilitation Centre is also going to be functional, which will be a platform to tackle cases of severe malnutrition.
He said the hospital would have functional speciality departments in a phased manner.
�There will also be a blood bank where blood transfusion facility will be provided. An ultra diagnostic centre has also been constructed,� he said.
Modern technology is to be used to dispose biomedical waste and incinerators have been built.
