Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar Thursday inaugurated 46 health institutions in 17 districts and expanded the ambit of the monthly assistance of Rs 2,750 for patients suffering serious illnesses by adding 55 more rare diseases in the list, benefitting close to 8,000 people.
The Haryana government already provides pension benefits to patients suffering from thalassemia, hemophilia, and Stage-III and Stage-IV cancer. The latest announcement adds rare illnesses such as Pompe disease, Duchenne muscular dystrophy and spinal muscular atrophy, to the list with the government making a budget provision of Rs 25 crore for the purpose.
Khattar said, “3,000 people are suffering from thalassemia and hemophilia; 4,000 have Stage-III and Stage-IV cancer, and about 1,000 suffer from 55 other rare diseases. They all will now receive the pension. These inaugurations and the financial assistance will play a pivotal role in further strengthening the health infrastructure along with providing the best facilities to every citizen”.
He was addressing a state-level programme in Yamunanagar. During the programme, he inaugurated the 275-bed Mukand Lal District Civil Hospital in Yamunanagar, constructed at a cost of Rs 100 crore.
He also inaugurated health institutions in Bhiwani, Karnal, Fatehabad, Rohtak, Kaithal, Faridabad, Palwal, Sirsa, Panchkula, Nuh, Charkhi Dadri, Jind, Yamunanagar, Hisar, Gurugram, Narnaul and Kurukshetra. Two subdivisional civil hospitals, three community health centres, an urban health centre, a mother and child hospital, eight primary health centres, 15 health and welfare centres and 15 sub-health centres were also thrown open to the public.
Stating that his government has given a lot of emphasis on strengthening the healthcare system, including increasing the budget for the sector every year, Khattar said that special attention is being paid towards increasing the number of doctors in the state.
Khattar added that according to World Health Organization norms, the strength of doctors in Haryana should be 28,000 but the figure is at 13,000, including government and private ones, at present. “When our government was formed in 2014, the number of MBBS seats in Haryana was only 750. With the opening of new medical colleges, now these seats have become 1,900. Also, now seven medical colleges are either under construction or have been announced. After their construction (is completed), the number of MBBS (seats) will increase to more than 3,000. Besides this, the strength of paramedical staff and nursing staff is also being increased,” he said.
The chief minister said a new medical college and an Ayurvedic college will be constructed in Panchkula shortly.
“All the land acquisition process has been completed for the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Rewari. Its foundation stone will be laid soon,” he added.
Health Minister Anil Vij, who too was present, said the state government is committed to providing the best healthcare facilities to its citizens. “Our government has ensured the availability of X-ray, ultrasound and MRI machines in all district hospitals. Apart from this, four cath labs are also running in the state. Apart from this, ECG and X-ray machines will be made available up to the primary health centre (PHC) level”.
Vij said officers of the health department have been directed to renovate old PHCs. He said 162 PHCs have been identified, which will be demolished and made new.
Link for original article : https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/haryana-cm-khattar-46-health-facilities-inaugurated-17-districts-8604113/
