New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS): Acharya Bhikshu Hospital in Moti Nagar would get a new block of 270 additional beds, taking number of hospital beds from 150 to 420 by December 2020, the Delhi government said on Monday.

"The new block of 270 beds will increase the number of beds from 150 to 420," Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said. He and Health Minister Satyendar Jain laid the foundation stone for the block at the hospital premise.

The new block would ensure treatment to all patients and no referrals to far away hospitals, Jain said. "The expansion will ensure people no longer have to be referred to far away bigger hospitals. People will get high quality treatment in this hospital itself," Jain said.

Kejriwal said his government was committed to provide quality healthcare to every citizen -- rich or poor. The services that would be available here could not be matched by even top private hospitals, he added.

The new block is expected to be constructed in 15 months by the Public Works Department.

Pointing to condition of hospitals before 2015, Kejriwal said earlier nobody wanted to be left at the mercy of a government hospital. "I have been told many instances about this very hospital. But the transformation that I am witnessing today is commendable. With the same medical superintendent, doctors and nurses, the hospital has been transformed," said Kejriwal.

"People are the same, but the politics has changed," the Chief Minister said.