Sir Ganga Ram Hospital is a 650-bed multi-speciality state-of-the-art hospital in Rajinder Nagar, Delhi. It provides comprehensive medical services to patients from all over Southeast Asia and is regarded as one of the leading healthcare institutions in India. It is the only hospital in the private sector that has maintained nearly 100% bed occupancy due to its high reputation in New Delhi and neighboring regions. The hospital's Minimal Access Surgery department was the first such department in South Asia.[1]
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The hospital was initially founded in 1921 at Lahore by Sir Ganga Ram (1851-1927), a civil engineer and leading philanthropist of his time. After the Partition of India in 1947, the present hospital was established in New Delhi on a plot of land approximately 11 acres (45,000 m2). The foundation was laid in April 1951 by the then Prime Minister of India Shri Jawahar Lal Nehru and was inaugurated by him on April 13th, 1954. The hospital nearly closed due to lack of funds in the 1970s. It was restructured by Dr. K.C. Mahajan, one of New Delhi's notable general surgeons, in 1981. As chairman of the Board of Management, Dr. Mahajan revised the financial and functional structure of the hospital. He still serves as an Emeritus Consultant in the hospital's department of general surgery.[2]
The hospital continues to maintain its charitable character in accordance with to the wishes of its founder. Funds generated from the hospital services are partially utilized to provide free health care to poor patients. All development activities of the hospital are financed from internal resources. The government and other external entities are not involved in the hospital's funding. The hospital is governed by a Board of Management comprising medical consultants of eminence, some with an international standing. The Board of Management operates under the overall guidance of the Sir Ganga Ram Trust Society. The Sir Ganga Ram Hospital is committed to make available 20% beds of total strength for admission of indigenous and financially weaker section of the society. On these beds all facilities (boarding, lodging, investigations, medicine and operative procedures) are free. In addition to that the hospital has a specialized outpatient department for all disciplines in which patients are seen free of charge. These facilities are provided strictly on a first-come first served basis.
On September 22, 2011, former Indian cricket captain Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi died at the hospital at the age of 70.