Need solid proposal for augmentation of facilities, will do my best: Delhi CS to LNJP Hospital

Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar on Thursday suggested authorities at the LNJP Hospital to send a ''solid proposal'' to the city government on augmentation of its facilities, and asserted that he will do his best to turn it into an institution that the capital would be proud of.

Addressing a gathering at an event held on the premises of the Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC) here to mark World Hepatitis Day, the 1987-batch AGMUT cadre IAS officer also said red tapism and bureaucracy can make life miserable, and emphasised that hospital authorities could bring any proposal directly to him.

Kumar hailed the doctors of the Delhi government-run hospitals, including the 92-year-old LNJP Hospital (set up as Irwin Hospital in British era) for rendering selfless service during the COVID-19 pandemic. The old hospital is attached with MAMC. The Delhi chief secretary, in his address, said it has become at times fashionable to use the term ''world-class'' when talking of infrastructure facilities.

Kumar suggested LNJP Hospital authorities that he would ''need a solid proposal'' in black and white, on augmentation of its facilities. ''All I can say is, I will see what best I can do to make it into something the city should be proud of,'' he asserted.

''Bring it (proposal) directly to me,'' Kumar said, adding in a light-hearted way, ''use me as much as possible''.

He also said it will be his effort to ensure establishment-related matters and service-related matters can be taken up promptly.

Delhi Health Secretary Amit Singla also praised the ''yeoman service'' rendered by doctor and other healthcare workers of the LNJP Hospital during the pandemic.

The biggest Delhi government-run hospital has 2,000 beds, During the height of the pandemic, all beds had been dedicated for coronavirus patients.

In October 2020, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had laid the foundation stone for construction of a towering state-of-the-art 1,500-bed block at LNJP Hospital that will make it one of the largest facilities in the country.

Kejriwal after laying the foundation stone of the Maternity, Medicine and Advanced Pediatrics Block on the hospital premises in central Delhi had asserted that this will be a ''world-class hospital for the people of the capital city''.

The new 1,500-bed block is to be built at a cost of Rs 450 crore with per bed cost coming out to be Rs 30 lakh, he had said. LNJP Hospital's Medical Director Dr Suresh Kumar said viral hepatitis is a threat to public health leading to one death in every 30 second, globally. The doctor also shared figures on the number of hepatitis B and C patients who have received treatment at the hospital, and cautioned that tattooing also involves a risk of contracting hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and which is an ''emerging problem''. Vaccine against hepatitis B is available, and for hepatitis C, good treatment is available, he said. World Hepatitis Day is commemorated each year on July 28 to enhance awareness of viral hepatitis, an inflammation of the liver that causes a range of health problems, including liver cancer, according to the World Health Organisation website.

There are five main strains of the hepatitis virus – A, B, C, D and E. Together, hepatitis B and C are the most common cause of deaths, with 1.3 million lives lost each year. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, viral hepatitis continues to claim thousands of lives every day it said.