New state-of-the-art Bone and Joint Hospital building nears completion

Srinagar, Nov 25: After years of delays and setbacks, the new Bone and Joint Hospital building in Barzulla, Srinagar, is finally nearing completion, a top official said. The 120-bed facility, which has been under construction since 2019, is expected to be handed over to the hospital authorities soon.

According to Roads and Buildings Chief Engineer R&B (PW) Er Sajad Naqeeb, the state-of-the-art hospital building is ready to be handed over. “We are executing some final works, and it will be handed over by December 15 this year,” he said. He said the Rs 116 crore project is under commissioning and ‘very soon it will be available to the health department for utilizing it for patient use,

Confirming the development, the Medical Superintendent of the B&J hospital, Dr Nazir Khan said all equipment and internal fittings are in place, and the building is ready for occupation. "We have been assured that the building will be handed over to us soon," Dr Khan said. It is a turnkey project and R&B and Health department are working in close coordination.

The hospital has been struggling with inadequate space and patient load forces the administration to ‘house 60 patients in a ward meant for 40’ a senior doctor told Greater Kashmir. Over the years, the doctors have been dissatisfied with the constraints posed by the infrastructure, compromising patient care.

The new building will provide much-needed relief to patients and doctors, who have been struggling with overcrowding and inadequate facilities. The existing hospital building was damaged in the 2014 floods and declared unsafe. In March 2022, a massive fire damaged many parts of the existing hospital, rendering the wards unusable. However, the hospital authorities managed to refurbish and use the wards temporarily.

The new building will feature state-of-the-art amenities, including modular operation theatres, a pneumatic transit system, and a waste management system. The hospital's design was finalized after consultations with health infrastructure experts, and it aims to provide world-class facilities to patients.

Once completed, the hospital will be decongested, and trauma and orthopedics services in the Valley are expected to improve. The hospital is the only orthopaedic trauma hospital in Kashmir and renders service to the entire Kashmir province and to many districts in Chenab Valley, forming the vital healthcare facility in the region.

The construction of the new building was undertaken by the J&K Economic Reconstruction Agency, Jhelum Tawi Flood Recovery Project (JTFRP), in collaboration with the World Bank. Despite missing multiple deadlines, the project is finally nearing completion.