Varanasi: Lalit Wadhwa, Joint Secretary of Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna (PMJAY) and Advisor (Cost) at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, visited the Institute of Medical Sciences at Banaras Hindu University on Friday to review the progress of the National Centre of Ageing (NCA).
Review Meeting and Directives
A review meeting chaired by BHU Vice-Chancellor Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi was held to assess the status of the NCA and the Critical Care Block projects. The VC instructed the executive agencies of both projects to accelerate work to ensure operations commence within the stipulated timeline. The meeting was attended by Director IMS-BHU Prof S N Sankhwar, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine Prof Sanjay Gupta, Trauma PI Dr Saurabh Singh, Nodal Officer NCA Prof Anup Singh, and other BHU officials.
Construction Progress
Officials reported that the major construction work of the NCA building has been completed, with the remaining work expected to finish within this month. Installation of furniture and medical equipment is anticipated by the end of June. Additionally, a separate liquid oxygen plant is being constructed to support critical care and ensure uninterrupted oxygen supply for the facility.
Manpower and Recruitment
Prof Anup, Nodal Officer of NCA, detailed that a total of 135 permanent posts have been sanctioned through the Ministry of Education, and 174 contractual posts have been sanctioned under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The Director of IMS informed that the advertisement process for permanent faculty and other positions is expected to be initiated shortly by BHU. Wadhwa visited both centres and provided his inputs.
Facilities and Academic Vision
The NCA is being developed as a dedicated 200-bed tertiary care facility for elderly healthcare under the National Programme for Health Care of the Elderly (NPHCE), MoHFW. The facility will offer specialised geriatric services, including ICU, HDU, dialysis, physiotherapy, rehabilitation, specialised diagnostics, private wards, and comprehensive outpatient and inpatient elderly care. In the initial phase, the centre will start functioning with 52 beds. The centre is also envisioned as a key academic and research hub in geriatric medicine, with plans to introduce 15 MD Geriatric Medicine seats in the near future. This initiative is expected to significantly strengthen teaching, training, research, and specialised healthcare services for the rapidly growing elderly population in the region and the country.
