Max to open hospitals in Bihar

Bihar will have one, possibly two, new superspeciality hospitals set up by the Max group, which will also open its second healthcare insurance office in Patna in 2007, Max group chairman Analjit Singh announced today after discussions with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

This puts Bihar firmly on the path of a state seeking, and getting, private sector investment which had practically dried up in the last 15 years.

Bihar government sources said a greenfield hospital at Rajgir, close to Nalanda, is a real possibility. But the first one will come up in Patna. Discussions are on whether the group will take over an existing Patna hospital and turn it around or will seek to set up a new one.

A team of two healthcare specialists "" Dr Narottam Puri and Dr Shabnam Singh "" visited the Guru Nanak Dev hospital in the city to assess the facilities.

"Both hospitals will be world-class. Whether it is a greenfield hospital or a public private partnership, it doesn't matter. The fact is that Bihar has a limited capacity of good hospitals. This is despite the fact that 8 to 10 per cent of the best doctors in Delhi are from Bihar and the second largest number of doctors from India in the United States are also from Bihar. We want to provide world-class healthcare to the state, as well as serve a social objective," Singh said.

When asked if there was a timeframe for the project, Singh said, "Now, right now, or never."

He explained that the Max healthcare group had set itself a timespan of five years to exit from the National Capital Region (NCR) after establishing its hospitals there. "Those five years are now over and we are now looking for states in which to site new projects. Bihar came to mind immediately."

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said the government was in talks about where the two hospitals would be located and whether they would be existing or greenfield projects.

He said he was personally keen that the Buddhist circuit around Rajgir and Bodh Gaya should be developed as a centre for medical tourism, given that Gaya was to get a top class international airport soon.

"The fact is, Bihar is on everyone's mind," he said. The CM also said Singh had accepted the invitation to be a member of the sub committee on the health sector in the State Development Council.