The Odisha government will set up 20 hospitals through the public-private partnership (PPP) mode in order to improve healthcare facilities in the state, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced on June 22.

The hospitals will bring an investment of at least Rs 1,000 crore in the private health sector and open an opportunity for direct employment for 10,000 people in the para-medical sector, said a release from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO). As many as 11 districts have also been involved in the scheme following the state government's Health Sector Investment Policy - 2016. The hospitals will be constructed under the Hub and Stock model of the state government's Affordable Healthcare Project.

Some of these hospitals will act as Hub (central hospital) while some others will function as Stock (branch hospital), said the release. The total bed capacity at the initial stage would be around 2,700 that will fill up 56 per cent of non-availability of hospital beds in the state, it added. These hospitals will be accorded National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare (NABH) Accreditation.