Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday inaugurated teaching hospitals in five government medical colleges to further strengthen the healthcare infrastructure in the state.
The Chief Minister also laid the foundation stone for the transformation of four medical colleges to provide world-class facilities in the state.
The teaching hospitals inaugurated by the CM are – 650-bed Bhima Bhoi Medical College and Hospital at Balangir, 650-bed Pandit Raghunath Murmu Medical College and Hospital at Baripada, 500-bed Government Medical College and Hospital at Sundargarh, 500-bed Dharni Dhar Medical College and Hospital at Keonjhar and Fakir Mohan Medical College and Hospital with 650 beds in Balasore.
In addition, foundation stones were laid to provide world-class infrastructure in Acharya Harihar Postgraduate Cancer Research Institute at Cuttack, MKCG Medical College and Hospital at Berhampur, Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH) and Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical and Research (VIMSAR) in Burla.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that the launch of these facilities marks a milestone in Odisha’s healthcare sector. A total of 2,950 beds were added in five medical college hospitals in a day. More than Rs 2,000 crore has been spent by the state government for this.
People from Balangir to Baripada, Sundargarh to Keonjhar and Balasore will benefit from this. Stating that people’s confidence in the state’s healthcare system has increase, Naveen said the aim of the government is to provide good treatment and services to the people.
Stating that there were only three government medical colleges in Odisha, the Chief Minister said that in the last six years, eight new medical colleges and two post-graduate institutes have come up. Three more medical colleges are also going to be established in the coming days.
Every year doctors and paramedic staff are recruited. Earlier, the state was producing only 321 MBBS doctors and 254 specialists. Now, 2525 MBBS doctors and 972 specialists are passing out of different medical colleges in the state, he said.
The Chief Minister further said that the 5T initiative has revolutionised the healthcare sector in the state and hospitals are being developed into ‘Ama Hospitals’ for the benefit of the people.
Speaking on the foundation stone laid for transformation of four medical institutions, the CM said more than Rs 3,400 crore will be spent for this.
Highlighting the current healthcare scheme in the state, he said that every life is precious to me. For this, we have implemented various programs in the field of healthcare, starting from Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) . New medical facilities are also being developed in government hospitals. Both the rich and the poor are getting free treatment in government hospitals. He said that we all should take this transformation of the healthcare sector further and strengthen the foundation of new Odisha through ‘healthy Odisha, happy Odisha’.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Niranjan Pujari, who was present at Burla, said that the Chief Minister is improving the health infrastructure of the state to provide the best medical facilities to the people. He said that the healthcare system of the state is being taken to the next stage under the 5T initiative to provide better quality and appropriate medical facilities to the people.
The programme was conducted by 5T and Nabin Odisha Chairman V K Pandian.
