The Assam government is aiming to turn Guwahati into a regional hub for healthcare catering to patients not only from the North-East but also from neighbouring countries of Bhutan and Bangladesh.
“We have signed a memorandum of understanding with Narayana Hrudayalaya for a super speciality hospital in the city today. This is the first step in turning Guwahati into a health hub,” the Health and Education Minister, Mr Himanta Biswa Sarma, said here today after the MoU signing ceremony.
Super speciality hospital
Under the agreement, a super speciality hospital is to come up at Amingaon in the outskirts of the city under public-private partnership model in collaboration with the Bangalore-based Narayana Hrudayalaya. “Guwahati has the advantage of proximity. With the city as a hub, patients requiring specialised treatment from anywhere in the North East and even North Bengal, Bhutan and Bangladesh can come here,” Mr Sarma said.
Subsidy factor
The super speciality hospital would be operational within a year. It will have 300 beds, of which half will run on government subsidised rates while the rest will be on private hospital rates. The state government had earlier tied up with the Bangalore-based firm for another scheme under which children diagnosed with congenital heart disease are given free treatment, including operation, at Narayana Hrudayalaya.