Gurdwara ties up with health org to revive hospital
Times of India | 1 July 2024
Kolkata: A charitable health unit run by one of the city’s oldest gurdwaras has tied up with a non-profit health organisation to restart the health unit that remained non-functional for more than a decade. The Guru Tegh Bahadur Medical Service Centre & Hospital on D L Khan Road is expected to get a fresh lease of life after the tie-up.
The Gurdwara Sant Kutiya (GSK) had started a 35-bed hospital in the two-storey building close to SSKM Hospital, about four decades ago with facilities for outdoor patients as well.But the unit shut shop around 12 years ago due to management issues. Liver Foundation West Bengal (LFWB) has come into the fore to revive the health facility.
“We plan to start with day care services by reviving 12 beds for now jointly with the gurdwara. If all goes well, we should be able to open the services by Aug 15,” said Partha Sarathi Mukherjee, secretary, LFWB. Doctors from the Indian Institute of Liver & Digestive Sciences are expected to tend to patients six days a week once the service begins.
“Since the health facility has been closed for over 12 years now, we need to revamp and renovate it. We are looking forward to this unit getting a fresh lease of life,” said Kulmit Singh, assistant secretary, GSK.
On Sunday as the organisation steps into its 19th year it recognised 300 plus rural healthcare providers (RHPs) who have been ensuring oxygen in the hour of need in rural Bengal. “These RHPs are helping us to reach people in villages with healthcare services. We aim to add more initiatives in the days to come,” said hepatology professor Abhijit Chowdhury, mentor of the organisation.