Universal quality healthcare foundation of social & economic progress: Odisha CM Majhi

Bhubaneswar: “Universal quality healthcare is a cornerstone of social and economic progress,” Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has said.
He said physical and mental well-being will make citizens active, confident and self-respecting; and self-respecting citizens will realize the dream of prosperity.
“Realizing this truth, the legendary Prime Minister Modiji has implemented the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana across the country. Crores of people who have benefited from this far-sighted scheme of the Prime Minister have showered their blessings on him,” he said.
Stating that with launching of the much-awaited Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana – Gopabandhu Jan Arogya Yojana, a new chapter was added to the development history of Odisha, the CM said.
The Chief Minister said that this historic scheme, which has been denied to the people of the state for the last 6 years due to political reasons, is starting today.
The government is committed to providing healthcare to the people of the state and funding will never be a barrier for this, he said.
Today, about 3.46 crore beneficiaries of about 1 crore 3 lakh families in the state will benefit from this scheme, he said, adding, “Each family will get free treatment up to Rs. 5 lakh per year in 29,000 private and government hospitals listed in various states of the country.” Female members of the family will get additional free treatment up to Rs. 5 lakh per year, he informed.
In addition, senior citizens aged 70 and above will get free medical coverage of Rs 5 lakh per family under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana. Over 23 lakh senior citizens will benefit from the Ayushman Bharat Yojana. An additional six lakh people, including the senior citizens who were already covered under the Gopabandhu Jan Arogya Yojana, will get the cards, he said.
“All these combined schemes will benefit 3 crore 52 lakh people of the state,” he said.
He said that the Odisha government will get Central assistance on 60:40 ratio for Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana. The state government has also earmarked substantial amount for it.
He further said that these days many family members are staying outside the family home either for work or studies. There are also families whose members are staying in more than two places. Therefore, they will not have to face any problem in getting this healthcare service, he pointed out.
Highlighting the healthcare services for senior citizens, the Chief Minister said that in many cases, it has been seen that due to financial constraints, children neglect and even ignore the need to provide good medical care to their parents. From today, they will not have to worry about providing good medical care to the senior citizens of the family, he said.
He further said that not only health but also lakhs of students of Odisha were kept away from the New Education Policy-2020 due to political reasons. However, our government has already implemented the New Education Policy as soon as it came into power. This will benefit our students immensely and ensure their bright future, he said.
Briefing about the government’s steps in the healthcare sector, the Chief Minister said that after the formation of the new government, 4,000 doctors and healthcare workers from different categories have been appointed in 3 phases so far. The process has been started to appoint 5,374 more doctors and dentists. We will achieve this goal very soon, he said.
He said that beneficiaries residing outside Odisha can avail free treatment in hospitals listed by the respective state governments across India. The names and addresses of the listed hospitals will be available for public information on the Health Department or the Ayushman Bharat website.
The Chief Minister informed that Rs 3,881 crore has been proposed in this year’s budget for health infrastructure projects under the Chief Minister’s Health Service Mission and Rs 420 crore under Aam Hospital.
Keeping in view the needs of the people, new medical colleges will be established in the state in a phased manner. The Chief Minister said that at present there are 12 medical colleges in the state. This year, funds have been provided for 4 medical colleges in the budget. These are Jagatsinghpur, Bhadrak, Nabarangpur and Dhenkanal.
The new building and hostel for doctors of the 7-storey Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Postgraduate Institute of Pediatrics or Sishu Bhavan was inaugurated in Cuttack. The number of beds in this new building has been increased from 422 to 846. It has 140 ICU beds. The hostel can accommodate about 180 resident doctors.
Along with this, a micro-biological laboratory has also been inaugurated at the State Medical Corporation campus in Bhubaneswar. This will enable testing of food and water samples and determining their quality.
In his address, the Union Minister for Tribal Affairs, Joel Oram said, “Our government works for the people. The implementation of Ayushman Bharat Yojana will benefit the most people from the tribal community of the state,” he opined.
State Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. Mukesh Mahaling said that with the implementation of Ayushman Bharat Yojana in the state, the people of Odisha will be able to get medical services from Kashmir to Kanyakumari all over the country.
The event was graced by the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, Deputy Chief Minister Parvathi Parida and various MLAs, Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja and Health Secretary Ashwathi S., among others. Ministers, MPs and MLAs from different parts of the state were present on virtual mode.