The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given its approval to implement the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) for establishing and managing six state-of-the-art medical institutions in the country. These institutions would be modelled on the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and are to come up in the States of Bihar, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan and Uttaranchal.

Each approved AIIMS-like institution will consist of 850-bedded hospital providing medical treatment in 39 specialties / super specialty disciplines including super-specialty beds and ICU beds. It would also provide undergraduate medical education with intake capacity of 100 per year and PG/doctoral courses as per MCI norms. The State Governments concerned will provide at least 100 acres of developed land free of cost and other infrastructural facilities such as water, power, road connectivity for setting up and running these institutes. The central assistance would include the construction of the hospitals and allotment of Rs 100 crore annually towards the running cost of each hospital.

These centres are to fill the gap in tertiary healthcare infrastructure, as well as facilities for quality medical education in the under-served states. The scheme is likely to be implemented within three years.

As Pharmabiz had reported, the Planning Commission had approved Rs
1000 crore towards the establishment costs of these six centres of medical excellence about two years ago. Estimated to cost Rs 387 crore per hospital, the six AIIMS were supposed to be established during the 10th five-year plan period.