Nagpur: In view of Covid-19 havoc and lack of healthcare facilities to deal with the deadly virus, Dr Pravin Dabli, Member of Zero Mile Foundation, has demanded construction of a permanent 500-bed state-of-the-art hospital especially for children in Nagpur. This demand was put forth by Dr Dabli to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Nagpur Guardian Minister Dr Nitin Raut and Mayor Dayashankar Tiwari. “Experts have warned of a third wave of Covid-19 and children too are likely to be infected by the virus. To protect the children from the virus, an independent 500-bed hospital for them must be built for them in the city. Need for such a healthcare facility is being felt in the ever growing population of Nagpur,” Dr Dabli stressed.
Dr Dabli further said that the present population of Nagpur has crossed 46 lakh mark. In 2011, it was 24 lakh. The population of children (0-6 years) in that year was 497087 including 257438 boys and 239649 girls. Now, this population has doubled in 2021. Similarly, the fresh figures of population in rural parts (0-18 years) stand at 573294. The combined population of children in city and rural parts stands at around 15 lakh. Considering the figure, boosting the healthcare facilities is the need of the hour. “Even though the city has Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Mayo, Daga and AIIMS, the number of wards for children in these hospitals is negligible. In Daga Hospital, only newborns are being taken care of. Compared to the population, this is nothing. The city has over 300 child specialist doctors but there is no permanent and independent hospital to take care of a large number of children. Nagpur being a hub of medical facilities, patients from neighbouring Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh too come to the city for treatment. All have to depend on costly private hospitals which are not affordable for poor people,” Dr Dabli stated.
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Tuesday 28 Jan. 2025
“The experts have warned of a third wave of Covid-19 in the coming time. The experts have also warned of direct effects on children as they are vulnerable to the deadly virus infection. In view of this warning, the city-based government hospitals have been asked to make arrangements for 200-bed facilities albeit temporary. Similarly, 50-bed facilities are also being made in each tehsil in rural parts. According to reports, Rs 50 lakh could be spent in each tehsil for the facility. The proposed expenditure is about 6.54 crore. This arrangement too is being done under National Health Mission by District Administration,’ Dr Dabli said.
Build children’s hospital on Empress Mill land:
Dr Dabli demanded that the independent 500-bed children’s hospital can be constructed on vacant Empress Mill land. “This 500-bed hospital could be the country’s biggest hospital for children and could be a ‘milestone’ in the healthcare facility. The Union Minister Gadkari is also pitching for all the facilities in Nagpur. This could be possible only when the city MP, MLAs, Mayor and State Ministers come together and ponder over it seriously,” Dr Dabli exhorted.
