By Sachin Murdeshwar

Mumbai : General Electric,   today announced a Public Private Partnership (PPP) with the Government of Maharashtra. In a consortium which includes the Public Health Department of the Government of Maharashtra, Wipro GE Healthcare Pvt. Ltd. and Ensocare by Enso Group, a 7 billion dollar diversified conglomerate in dynamic sectors like Oil & Gas, Infrastructure & Real Estate, the project will advance healthcare in the State of Maharashtra for setting up advanced diagnostic facilities at 22 Government district and

women hospitals. It will operate on a 24/7 hour basis and provide services at Government recommended rate cards for the benefit of the 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 all22 facilities which are expected to be operational within a year.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Prithviraj Chavan, Chief Minister, Government of Maharashtra said “The Government of Maharashtra is committed to providing better and affordable healthcare to its people. Today, we are on to a first of its kind, large scale modernization of district hospitals with latest diagnostic technologies. No single agency can transform the entire healthcare system in the country but by working together with partners like GE and Ensocare, we can take a giant leap in advancing health care to people at all levels in society. We hope to give benefit of this PPP model  to patients under Rajiv Gandhi Jeevandai  Arogya Yojana Scheme in the State and also lower the costs for all categories of patients. We hope this will become a role model for all.”

The PPP agreement with Government of Maharashtra is the largest in terms of scale and includes the installation of 4 units of  64 slice CT scanners, 13 units of advance 16 slice CT scanners, 8 units of cutting edge 1.5T Magnetic Resonance Imaging Systems, 22 high end digital radiography systems, 39 color Doppler’s and 39 analog x-ray units. These advanced world-class imaging systems will allow District Hospitals provide early and accurate diagnosis on a 24/7 basis in the clinical specialty areas of Neurology, Cardiology, Vascular imaging, Emergency/Trauma, Oncology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Orthopedics, Gastroenterology, in addition to providing general purpose radiology, women’s health is given a special boost with the inclusion of 20 screening mammography units for early breast cancer detection.

John Rice, Vice Chairman, GE said “Providing high quality, accessible and affordable healthcare is one of the biggest challenges faced by governments all over the world.  Through progressive public private partnerships, like the one we are announcing today with the Government of Maharashtra, patients are the biggest winners as they’ll have access to advanced and affordable healthcare that previously wasn’t available to them. We are delighted to playing our part towards a healthier India and in helping to bridge the healthcare disparity.

Commenting on the new partnership, Banmali Agrawala, President & CEO GE South Asia said, “This PPP is the second partnership that we have forged with Maharashtra, the first being GE’s setting up of its advanced multi-modal manufacturing plant at Chakan near Pune that we announced last June. This is testament in the progressive development of the state that we believe in the long run will be both economically and socially beneficial to people who live here.  We look forward to more partnership opportunities in the future.”

38 district and other large hospitals under Government of Maharashtra cater to about 100 million people.  It is estimated that in a year, these hospitals carry out 100,000 CT scans, 50,000 MRIs, 300,000 color Doppler studies, 900,000 x-rays and 40,000 mammography exams for early detection and treatment of diseases. In the absence of quality diagnostic imaging equipment, patients are frequently, referred to private centers which substantially increases the cost of treatment.

“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 targeted 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.” Said Terri Bresenham, Managing Director, Wipro GE Healthcare Pvt. Ltd and President & CEO of GE Healthcare South Asia

India has one of the largest networks of public hospitals in the world however the healthcare system faces a challenge in ensuring quality and equitable access to patients whilst enhancing capabilities needed to tackle the changing disease profiles in the country. The tri-party partnership is a reflection GE’s goal to enable better healthcare for more people and the Government of Maharashtra’s commitment to providing affordable healthcare to the population.  GE Healthcare is the first company in India to design a PPP model to deliver quality imaging services comparable to super specialty units in Government hospitals. Since the first project with Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College in Jabalpur in 2007, GE has successfully executed PPP projects spanning 4 States in India benefitting approximately 500,000 poor and needy patients. .

Vaibhav Maloo (Alumnus of Carnegie Mellon University, Oxford University), Chairman, Ensocare said, “Government has the largest network of hospitals and reach in India. Working together with private players like Ensocare and GE Healthcare, Governments will be able to modernize these hospitals and elevate the standard of care to the best in the world like NHS, UK. We are very pleased to be part of this progressive PPP initiative by Government of Maharashtra and contribute to usher in a new era in healthcare.