Himachal medical boom: New hospitals, National Cancer Institute, MSC

To facilitate the people of the state with the best health facilities, the Himachal Pradesh government has initiated several steps to strengthen the health infrastructure in all the districts, said Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Friday (May 12).

Here is a list of the initiatives the Himachal Pradesh government is taking to boost the healthcare system:

1. Allocated Rs 30.90 crore to build a Trauma Centre in the new OPD block of Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC). This new OPD block is equipped with a physiotherapy ward, special wards, emergency unit, ICU, isolation ward, CT scan, X-ray, sample collection centre and pathology lab.
2. Granted Rs 11 crore to set up a 175-bed medical emergency facility at IGMC. The construction work of the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) block has been started in IGMC Shimla, while Rs 50 crore would be spent to install the PET scan machine in the Tanda Medical College, Kangra. E
3. To provide better healthcare services for the people of Una, Kangra, Hamirpur and Bilaspur districts, and other lower belts of the state, the government will establish a 300 bedded PGI Satellite Centre equipped with state-of-the-art multi-speciality amenities in the Una district. This will be set up in around 38 acres of land with an investment of Rs 450 crore.
4. The CM has advocated for a centrally funded National Cancer Institute at the Hamirpur district, with the latest equipment to treat cancer patients.
5. Constituted the Medical Service Corporation to ensure transparency to government procurement.
6. The government will also establish the Department of Emergency Medicine in the medical colleges of Shimla, Tanda, Nerchowk, and Hamirpur, which will have courses like robotic surgery.
7. The construction work of Chamba and Hamirpur Medical College buildings has been started and will be completed by the end of this year which will provide specialised medical services to the people of these areas near their homes.

The Chief Minister said that the positive results of these reforms would be visible in times to come, and the modern technology that the state government is incorporating will make the health institutions of the state world-class. It will also save the patients’ valuable time by ensuring they have the best healthcare facility near their homes.

Another two important factors the state government is focusing on are making Himachal Pradesh, a drug-free state and eradicating tuberculosis. The state governor, Shiv Pratap Shukla, said making the state free of drugs was the first priority, followed by eliminating tuberculosis (TB). The governor said, “As the governor of Himachal Pradesh, I would promise the eradication of drugs in the first place, and the second priority is to eradicate tuberculosis (TB).” In environment preservation, Himachal is doing well, and I will keep the environment at third place on my priority list as Himachal Pradesh is leading the country on the issue of environment.”

Mr. Shukla emphasised the need to sensitise the youth and monitor their movements both on and off campus to combat drug addiction.

“To make youth aware of the drug menace, there is a need to sensitise them at the institutional level and in classes, and their movements on campus and outside need to be monitored. The small shops and business units are also providing them with synthetic drugs, the parents need to come forward and boycott the drug addict at the social level, the addict needs to be disclosed in society; only after this could the menace be ended.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also prioritised the eradication of drugs and TB, and Governor Shukla has discussed the establishment of drug eradication and de-addiction centres, as well as Ni-kshay Mitra for TB eradication. He hopes to lead the country in eradicating TB by 2024, ahead of the Prime Minister’s target of 2025. He added, “The Prime Minister of India has targeted to eradicate TB from India by 2025, we want to take it a year ahead and complete it by 2024, and it would give a positive result for the country. And we have Ni-kshay Mitra in all districts; we have people from corporate sectors, individuals, and even people from the hospitality industry who have joined it and in our governor’s house, people have joined it as Ni-kshay Mitra, I think we shall be able to lead forward the Prime Minister’s idea ahead of the country.”

In conclusion, Governor Shukla reiterated his commitment to addressing these issues with collective efforts and emphasised the need for public awareness programmes to combat drug addiction and TB, protect borders, and preserve the environment.

The governor said that the state government is also working on policing and monitoring the drug menace and conducting a public awareness programme. Further to this, he added, “I am holding and will address more meetings with colleges, the NCC, the Red Cross, and media houses who also want to work on it; we can all work on it collectively to address the problems.” NDTV