Sikkim gets India’s second biggest government hospital

Sikkim took a giant leap in the sphere of healthcare with the inauguration of a 1002-bed hospital and foundation laying of the first government medical college at Sochaygang. Chief Minister Pawan Chamling inaugurated the New Sir Thutob Namgyal Memorial Multi-Specialty Hospital and claimed it was the second biggest healthcare facility in the country after the AIIMS in New Delhi. Spread over 15 acres of land, the first phase of the Sochaygang hospital was built at a cost of Rs 830 crore and took nine years to complete. The overall cost of the project will be Rs 1281 crore.

The main block of the hospital can withstand earthquakes measuring eight on the Richter scale and is a 10-storied building with a total built-up area of 46,886 sqm.

The block has 13 lifts and houses all general, surgical and specialty departments and 23 different operation theatres. The 100-year-old Sir Thutob Namgyal Memorial Hospital located in the heart of the capital would be shifted to the new hospital by the end of January. The new hospital should be fully operational by February 1. The government has already appointed 47 regular doctors and 261 nurses for the hospital and is in the process of appointing super specialists, specialists, and paramedics. The hospital is equipped with highly sophisticated equipment, including MRI, CT scanners, orthopantomogram machine, and Doppler fetal monitor, among others.