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Journalism of Courage
It takes an emergency for the Government to plan for it. Take for instance, this dream project the Health Ministry conceived after the Gujarat earthquake.
In June 2001, Health Minister C.P. Thakur decided to tackle natural disasters on the lines of the US Government’s health efforts in war-torn Bosnia. Upset about the way quake victims were treated, Thakur wanted the ministry to evolve a world-class healthcare facility that could be moved to a disaster area in minutes.
He issued orders to assemble a state-of-the-art mobile hospital that was to be fully self-sufficient in supplying not just emergency health services but also water, electricity and food to victims of natural or man-made disasters.
But, for over six months, the idea just gathered dust. Finally, on January 25 this year, bids were invited. Interestingly, although only the UK, Belgium and Germany have the technical know-how to put together such a hospital, it was not a global tender. The domestic bidders, predictably, did not fulfill the requirements. So in March this year, the tenders had to be rejected.
Now, the project has been revived amid talks of war. This time, the ministry is expected to float a global tender. ‘‘We will complete this project in due time. We have to find a way to reach disaster-struck areas quickly and provide healthcare,’’ said Thakur.
On paper, the project, for which the Hospital Services Consultancy Corporation was appointed to advise the ministry, is praiseworthy. Costs estimated at Rs 10 crore, the hospital was planned so it could be air-lifted to a disaster area within minutes.
According to sources, the hospital was to have seven units to accomodate OTs, post-operative wards, general wards, a kitchen, two units for ferrying a 150 KV power generation set and a purifying water-supply apparatus which could even use sea-water if required. The seven units were to comprise temperature-regulated, heat-resistant containers and the wards were to be made of temperature-regulated tents.
