To strengthen health sector, govt to spend Rs 1,570 crore, says CM

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today said the state government will spend Rs 1,570 crore to acquire state-of-the-art medical equipment and machineries to strengthen the health sector in state.

“Annually 9.50 lakh patients travel to other states for diagnosis and treatment, resulting in a loss of Rs 1,350 crore of GDP per year,” he said while chairing a review meeting of the Health Department. He said Rs 300-crore Cancer Care Centre of Excellence, with ultramodern facilities like cyclotron machine, radiation and nuclear medicine therapy, would be set up at Government Medical College, Hamirpur.

The Chief Minister said medical colleges were being upgraded with the facility of robotic surgery in neurology, oncology and orthopaedics. He said the process for installing modern PET scan and MRI machines at IGMC, Shimla, and Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College, Tanda, was also underway.

Sukhu also directed the officials to upgrade and strengthen the 69 healthcare facilities with enhanced level of care in the state by adding specialty beds and diagnostic capabilities in these hospitals. “These health facilities will also be strengthened for secondary care, emergency services, equipment abilities, besides installation of safety measures, including firefighting infrastructure, and improvement in internal mobility,” he said.

The Chief Minister said special focus would be laid on establishing in-house laboratories for enhancement of diagnostic and treatment facilities at all health institutions.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Dhani Ram Shandil, MLAs Sanjay Awasthy and Ajay Solanki, and other senior officials were also present in the meeting.