The move is seen as a major milestone in the government’s “Sustha Odisha, Sukhi Odisha” initiative to build a State prioritising public health.
Bhubaneswar: In a major boost to the healthcare infrastructure in the State, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today launched teaching hospitals at government medical colleges (MC) in five districts while laying down proposals for upgradation of four others. The move is seen as a major milestone in the government’s “Sustha Odisha, Sukhi Odisha” initiative to build a State prioritising public health.
While 650-bed teaching hospitals (TH) each were launched at Balangir Bhima Bhoi Medical College, Baripada Pandit Raghunath Murmu Medical College and Balasore Fakir Mohan Medical College, Sundargarh government hospital and Keojhar Dharani Dhar Medical Colleges got 500-bed THs each. Total 2950-bed THs worth over Rs 2,000 crore were inuagurated.
Among the proposed Medical Colleges to be upgraded with world-class facilities are Cuttack’s Acharya Harihar Post Graduate Institute of Cancer, Berhampur MKCG-MCH, Rourkela RGH and Burla VIMSAR.
During the launch, the CM said people of the State have faith in the government’s healthcare services. “To provide the best of medical assistance to people is the goal of the government. Today’s launches are a major step in ensuring that people of Odisha have access to the best of health services. A healthy State is a happy State. Nearly 3,000-bed teaching hospitals worth over Rs 2,000 crore were launched in a single day, which is no small feat. This will benefit people across all socio-economic backgrounds in the districts concerned, Naveen said.
The CM further stated that there was a time Odisha had three medical colleges but in the last six years, eight new Medical Colleges and two postgraduate institutes have been established. Three more Medical Colleges are all set to come up in the next three years. Doctors and paramedics are recruited every year . Earlier, Odisha produced around 321 MBBS doctors and 254 specialists annually as against the current 2,525 MBBS and 972 specialist doctors.
It was also announced that the BSKY Nabin Card will kickstart in Sambalpur from March 6