Command Hospital, in Alipore, and other hospitals run by the armed forces have thrown open their doors to civilians in need of emergency treatment.

?All hospitals run by the forces have been asked to treat emergency civilian patients. None of our hospitals will refuse emergency cases,? Surgeon Vice-Admiral V.K. Singh, director-general, Armed Forces Medical Services, declared on Friday.

Singh, who is in the city to attend a two-day seminar, also unveiled a Rs 85-crore plan to upgrade Command Hospital. ?The facility will be elevated to the level of a Grade I hospital, on a par with the Delhi-based Research and Referral Hospital,? he pointed out.

Post-upgrade, the hospital will have a state-of-the-art radiotherapy unit and a full-fledged oncology unit with radiotherapy, onco-surgery and other facilities. ?Oncology patients will not have to be referred to other centres,? Singh said.

Also coming up are a cardiac cath lab with angioplasty facility, departments for eye and ENT, and an eye bank.

A new pathological laboratory and research wing will also be set up. ?We will conduct stem cell research here,? the vice-admiral said.

A postgraduate course, for which the Medical Council of India has granted its approval, will be introduced at the hospital soon.

To rush emergency patients from remote pockets to the nearest defence hospital, the armed forces have planned to roll out state-of-the-art mobile units.

?These mobile vans will also have treatment facilities,? Singh said.

The authorities have procured 150 vehicles for the purpose. Civilians will also be able to avail of the service. There are also plans to introduce an air-ambulance facility to airlift patients.

The vice-admiral regretted that the representation of Bengali doctors in the forces, once 80 per cent of the strength, has been steadily declining.

Army officers, he added, are visiting medical colleges and urging students to join the forces.