CHANDIGARH :
Reaffirming that Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann-led Punjab Govt has no dearth of funds to ensure the world-class health facilities to people of the state, Punjab Finance Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema accompanied by Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh chaired a high-level meeting to review the ongoing development projects of health and medical education department here.
Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that he has strict directions from Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to deal with all the files related to the health department on top priority as the Punjab Government can’t compromise with the health of the people.
Dr Balbir Singh said that the Punjab Government is all set to roll out the much ambitious Farishtey Scheme under which free treatment to be provided to all road accident victims, irrespective of their domicile, within the first 48 hours of the mishap. “Our government will treat all the road accident victims as one and ensure free treatment at nearby hospitals including private hospitals,” he said.
The Health Minister said that anyone taking the road accident victim to the hospital for treatment will be honoured and rewarded with Rs 2000. There will be no questioning by police or hospital authorities from the person, who brought the road accident victim to the hospital, until and unless he himself wants to become an eye witness.
He also reviewed a slew of ongoing development projects pertaining to the health department including the revamping of three government hospitals— MCH Dhuri Hospital, CHC Kauhrian and Cheema Hospital— to transform them into state-of-the-art health facilities, Integrated Public Health Labs, Critical Care Blocks, etc.
Soon, all the District Hospitals, Subdivision Hospitals and Community Health Centres will have X-ray and Ultrasound facilities, he said, while adding that 40 hospitals including 19 district hospitals, six subdivision hospitals and 15 Community Health Centres (CHCs) are being upgraded with ultra-modern facilities and equipment with the cost of Rs 550 crores so that people can avail world-class healthcare facilities at government hospitals, he said.
Dr Balbir Singh said that the Punjab Government is also coming up with a new concept to set up ‘Patient Facilitation Centre’ at Government Health Facilities to help and guide people coming for treatment. One such Centre is being established at Rajindra Hospital Patiala on a pilot basis, he added.
He said that the supply of free medicines is being ensured and there is no shortage of medicines at any government health facility. Apart from this, the government is planning to establish generic medicine pharmacies— Amrut and Jan Aushadhi Kendras— at all the government health facilities to provide lifesaving medicines and surgical products at subsidised rates to the people, he said.
Meanwhile, the Medical Education and Research Minister also asked the concerned officers to expedite the work of all the five New Medical Colleges being established in the state. He also took stock of the state-of-the-art diagnostic and management facility being established at the Punjab Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (PILBS) in Mohali.
