In a bid to elevate the healthcare system within the state of Maharashtra, the Government of Maharashtra has entered into a PPP with General Electric (GE), and Ensocare. The partnership, in which GE will act as the technology partner and Ensocare as the operating partner, aims at bringing technology at an affordable price point for the people of the state. GE has invested around Rs 150 crore in this project.
“I am indeed very happy to witness the launch of this new initiative in healthcare, particularly in the diagnostic segment which has fortified today. The idea behind this was to call the private sector to provide the initial investment and the government would provide infrastructure support in order to make diagnostic imaging services available to thousands of people within Maharashtra. The aim is to increase the volume of patients who would seek these services which in turn will drive down the price of diagnostic imaging,” expressed Maharashtra CM, Prithviraj Chavan, while announcing the launch.
According to the Government, this PPP agreement is the largest in terms of scale and includes the installation of four units of 64 slice CT scanners, 13 units of advance 16 slice CT scanners, eight units of cutting edge 1.5T magnetic resonance imaging systems, 22 high end digital radiography systems, 39 colour Doppler’s and 39 analog X-ray units. These will be installed at 22 district hospitals initially. These imaging systems will reportedly allow the district hospitals to provide early and accurate diagnosis on a 24×7 basis in clinical speciality areas. It will provide services at government recommended rate cards for the benefit of a broader population. Orange and Yellow ‘Below Poverty Line’ (BPL) card holders will be entitled to receive free diagnostic services under the Rajiv Gandhi Jeevandayee Arogya Yojana (RGJAY) scheme at all 22 facilities which are expected to be operational within a year.
Adding to this, Fauzia Khan, State Minister for health, Government of Maharashtra said, “Technology has been brought to the level of district hospitals to provide better healthcare to the people of the state. Maharashtra has been taking various steps to uplift the current healthcare system, especially in the last three to four years we have been able to make a transparent and effective healthcare system with the help of various schemes introduced. This is yet another milestone achieved in this regard.
Explaining the effort taken in this sphere and the idea behind this PPP model, Suresh Shetty, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Maharashtra, informed, “We started working on this project in June 2011 and the MOU with GE was signed in December 2012. Taking this partnership forward, today we are launching the first diagnostic centre in Maharashtra. The diagnostic centres will be soon functional after we provide power supply to GE.”
Moving forward, Terri Bresenham, MD, Wipro GE Healthcare and President & CEO of GE Healthcare South Asia explained GE’s role in this partnership. She said, “We have found PPP a proven and effective way of improving quality healthcare access to more people around the world. GE has successfully participated in several projects targetted at addressing problems faced by public hospitals. These include the need for capital investment for equipment, a shortage of trained manpower, the efficient running of facilities, timely maintenance of equipment and at the same time meeting the Government’s commitment in providing affordable healthcare to all. It is GE’s pleasure to power this partnership. Maharashtra has been a very progressive state in terms of thinking innovative strategies.”
Commenting on the new partnership and few plans, John Rice, Vice Chairman, GE said “This partnership is one step towards our commitment of being the best global player catering to the needs of several people. We assure that we will make this partnership a success. We are looking for more opportunities like these and will continue to invest in technology and capabilities which allow the dreams of this great country to be realised. We are delighted to playing our part towards a healthier India and in helping to bridge the healthcare disparity.”
This tri-party partnership, if made successful, will benefit many people within Maharashtra, especially those living below the poverty line. The partnership will provide services at a cost which will reportedly be almost 50 per cent less of the market price, informed a GE resource. Further in the pipeline is a major project for emergency services within the state.
EH News Bureau
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