Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Wednesday reaffirmed the government’s commitment to reforming, restructuring, upgrading and modernising Himachal Pradesh’s healthcare infrastructure to ensure accessible and affordable medical services for people across the state.
This is also possible through ‘Vyavastha Parivartan’ – a complete systemic transformation of the rules and governance in the state, particularly the healthcare sector.
The government launched dedicated Senior Citizen OPDs as part of an initiative to facilitate the people. These specialised consultation slots for citizens above the age of 70 are now functional across major hospitals, effectively eliminating long queues for the elderly.
To further bolster specialised care, an allocation of Rs five crore each to five premier medical institutions viz IGMC Shimla and medical colleges in Tanda, Hamirpur, Ner Chowk and AIMSS at Chamiyana, was announced for the establishment of dedicated Bone Marrow Transplant infrastructure (BMT).
This initiative is complemented by the approval of Rs 75 crore for AI-equipped smart labs at IGMC and Tanda, which will significantly reduce diagnostic wait times through automation.
Even to address the specialised needs of the younger generation, the government has also moved forward with an Advanced Pediatric Centre at AIMSS Chamiyana
to provide world-class child healthcare services within the state.
The state has successfully executed a massive Pulse Polio Campaign starting December 21, which included intensive door-to-door “mop-up” operations to ensure 100 per cent immunisation coverage.
Moving beyond traditional infrastructure to embrace high-end technology and specialised patient care within the State, the Chief Minister emphasised that the State’s massive Rs. 3,000 crore investments in health services is designed to ensure that the common man no longer needs to travel outside the State for advanced medical procedures.
He highlighted that the dream of modernising the health map of Himachal has turned into reality as the operationalisation of robotic surgery has started in AIMSS Chamiyana and Tanda Medical College, marking a historic first for the state’s public health sector.