The Hindu Business Line : GE Healthcare signs MoU with Gujarat Govt

The London based $17 billion General Electric Healthcare and the Government of Gujarat signed a memorandum of understanding to set up diagnostic imaging facilities in five medical collage and hospitals of Gujarat. GE will invest Rs 35 crore to install diagnostic imaging equipment in the State-run medical colleges at Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Baroda, Bhavnagar and Jamnagar.

A tele-radiology centre at Ahmedabad will be put up to link all the hospitals to facilitate second opinions for patients.

Cost cuts

The cost of treatment for patients will reduce 40 per cent compared to prevailing market costs, said Mr Jay Narayan Vyas, State Minister of Health and Family Welfare. While 20 per cent patients would be treated free-of-cost, the rest can avail exemption through the Government’s Rogi Kalyan Samiti scheme, he added.

“The equipment will be installed, maintained and updated by GE who will get its return on investments through the affording patients. Though the State Government does not receive any money from the treatments, we end up saving close to Rs 15 crore through this tie up every year,” he said.

Special courses

With the installation of these machines, specialised courses in MRI and radiology will be offered to pos-graduate students of the five colleges, said the State Commissioner of Health, Mr Amarjit Singh, IAS.

“The CT and MRI scan machines can do 50-60 scans a day,” said Mr V. Raja, President and Chief Executive Officer, GE Healthcare India.

GE had entered into a similar public private partnership project with the Madhya Pradesh Government at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College Hospital in Jabalpur.

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