NAVVNEET DUBEY
Jammu: Nearly Rs 15 crore spent on renovation, modular operation theatres and modern equipment notwithstanding, the government-run Sir Colonel R N Chopra Nursing Home in Jammu is yet to become fully operational, leaving patients deprived of affordable surgical care. The only government facility of its kind in Jammu division, the nursing home was shut down in August 2017 after its ground floor was flooded. Electrical hazards and technical faults were cited for closure.
Renovation was undertaken three years ago at a cost of about Rs 15 crore, but despite completion of work, regular patient care is yet to start. Official records show the process to finalise a fee structure has been dragging for over a year. Sir Colonel R N Chopra Nursing Home has 40 air-conditioned rooms with healthcare amenities, ventilators and modular monitors. Operation theatres are equipped with modern equipment.
On May 11, 2025, GMC Jammu Principal Dr Ashutosh Gupta wrote to the Secretary, Health and Medical Education Department, proposing charges for treatment. Most packages were modelled on the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana. The proposal was subsequently forwarded to the Director Finance. However, on November 21, 2025, the Finance Department asked the GMC principal to review the rates, observing that the proposed charges were nearly twice the existing rates.
A committee was subsequently constituted to revise the fee structure, but the revised proposal was also not accepted. On June 12, 2026, Dr Gupta again wrote to the Director Finance in the Health and Medical Education Department, seeking approval for the proposed charges. In his communication, he argued that the revised rates represented only a 2.7-fold increase over the charges fixed around 20 years ago, taking into account inflation during the intervening period. He also pointed out that the proposed charges remained significantly lower than the rates prescribed under the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) and were considerably cheaper than those charged by private nursing homes in Jammu.
The communication highlighted that crores of rupees had been spent on improving facilities, including the development of modular operation theatres and the expansion of diagnostic services. Dr Gupta urged the department to approve the rates so that surgical services could be started at the facility. However, approval is still awaited. The GMC Jammu principal has repeatedly maintained that regular services can begin only after the fee structure is finalised.
About a year ago, the nursing home conducted two surgeries, raising hopes of resumption of regular services. The first was performed by Dr Zahoor and the second by Dr Akhil Gupta. Anaesthesia was administered by Dr Ashufta and Dr Rajesh Mahajan, while nodal officer Dr Shaista Ganai coordinated arrangements.
No surgeries have been performed since, leaving upgraded infrastructure underutilised. Functioning under GMC Jammu, Colonel Chopra Nursing Home is meant for patients seeking private-like facilities in a government set-up.. At present, the facility is largely being used for admitting VIPs and other patients, instead of regular surgical work. Despite substantial investment, absence of an approved fee structure continues to delay full-fledged functioning, leaving patients who could have availed affordable surgeries at a government facility waiting.
