*Formal inauguration within one month
Govind Sharma
JAMMU, Jan 11: The Sir Colonel Chopra Nursing Home, located in the Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu, is set to resume operations after an 8-year hiatus. With all renovation works completed, manpower arranged, and State-of-the-art machinery procured, the Nursing Home is prepared to provide affordable and quality healthcare services to the people of Jammu.
Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah besides top Army Commanders are likely to join the ‘Veterans Day’ celebrations at Akhnoor on January 14.
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Established in 1989 and named after Col R N Chopra, the Father of Indian Pharmacology and first scientist from Jammu, the Nursing Home was inaugurated by the then Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir on December 21, 1989. It served the public efficiently, generating significant revenue for the State exchequer through thousands of surgeries, until August 2017, when it was shut down due to issues like short-circuiting and seepage in its first two floors.
The closure left patients seeking affordable private healthcare alternatives in difficult circumstances and caused substantial financial losses to the State. In 2019, a detailed renovation plan costing Rs 17 crore was proposed, but the work only began in 2022. Now, after nearly three years, the 150-bedded Nursing Home has been fully renovated and equipped with modern facilities comparable to private healthcare providers.
The facility now boasts six floors. The first three are dedicated to patient care, while the fourth and fifth floors house faculty rooms of GMC Jammu. The ground floor features a registration area, diagnostic rooms, and four modular operation theatres, including three major and one minor OT. The first, second and third floors have 40 private rooms for patients, each equipped with centralized air conditioning (hot and cold), oxygen supply with suction, an attached washroom, a mini kitchen, and a sofa cum bed for attendants. The premises are monitored 24×7 with CCTV cameras.
Principal, GMC Jammu, Dr Ashutosh Gupta said that the only works pending is blacktopping of entrance road to the Nursing Home and finalizing rates of surgeries, diagnostics tests and rooms, which will be decided soon in consultation with Administrative Department. He expressed hope of formal inauguration of the Nursing Home within one month while adding that it will be open for public on trial basis within few days.
Medical Superintendent of GMC Jammu, Dr Narinder Bhatial, Stated that the Nursing Home would initially begin operations on the ground and third floors due to limited staff, which has been internally arranged. He mentioned that additional medical officers, paramedics, nursing staff, and technicians are being recruited under SRO provisions, though this process will take a few months.
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