Plan for 1300 beds at LHMC’s Kalawati Saran child hospital

The proposed second phase redevelopment of the Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC) will see the number of beds at one of its associated children’s hospitals, Kalawati Saran, triple from its current 380 to nearly 1,300, which will make it the largest children’s hospital in Asia — a title currently held by the 837-bed Institute of Child Health and Hospital for Children in Chennai.

Senior officials from the hospital said the plan, which has been submitted to the Union health ministry , will see more beds coming up in a new building in the hospital. “Although redevelopment of the paediatric services was not a part of the initial second phase of the comprehensive redevelopment plan, there has been a lot of support from the government and the number of beds in Kalawati Saran will be increased. A plan for creating a 1,300-bed centre of national importance is in the pipeline,” said a senior official, on the condition of anonymity.

The official said that a timeline for the second phase of the redevelopment of the hospital, which is in the heart of the city, is yet to be decided. “Another 100 beds for children and newborns will be added soon to Kalawati Saran Children’s hospital [for now] as the third wave is thought to likely affect children more,” said the official, adding that “the old blocks will be replaced by new blocks under the second phase of redevelopment.”

A redevelopment plan for LHMC was created nearly 14 years ago, and the phase-I construction of a new outpatient clinic, in-patient ward, trauma centre for the associated Sucheta Kriplani hospital began in 2012. The construction was, however, halted for years when the private contractor abandoned the project citing lack of funds around 2014.

In 2018, the Central Public Works Department declared the old building unsafe for patients and recommended that the services be shifted. The report said that the iron girders supporting the roof were not capable of supporting any weight.

The services, however, continued in the dilapidated building despite the doctors going on a strike demanding that the work on the new building be completed.

Last year, the then union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan announced that some of the work has already begun and that it will be completed soon. Hindustan Times