Bhubaneswar: Odisha Health Minister Mukesh Mahalinga on Monday presented a comprehensive plan to give a boost to the state’s healthcare infrastructure during the Assembly session.
Highlighting the government’s commitment to ensuring quality healthcare for all, Mahalinga said “We have planned to open a second All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Sambalpur. We will discuss this with the Central Government soon.”
“After the Supreme Court’s directive, we have formed a task force under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary to ensure the safety of doctors. This task force will focus on the security of working doctors. Our government is committed to the safety of all working doctors. With this in mind, plans are afoot to open a police outpost in each medical college”, said the Health Minister condemning the R G Kar Medical College and Hospital incident.
As part of the government’s commitment to affordable healthcare, free dialysis programmes will be conducted in 55 health centres across the state, informed Mahaling.
“In a bid to ensure faster access to emergency medical services, the ambulance arrival time will be reduced from 30 minutes to 20 minutes”, stated the Health Minister.
The Odisha government has launched the Veer Surendra Sai Divya Drishti programme, aimed at providing comprehensive healthcare facilities to the people.
The Minister also announced that Odisha will benefit from the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, with 27,000 hospitals empanelled under the scheme. The government will establish Ayushmann Arogya Mandir in all gram panchayat headquarters, providing yoga instructors and medical staff.
Also, the government has plans to introduce digital health services, enabling people to access medical facilities remotely.