Shalini Pandit, the Health and Family Welfare Secretary of Odisha, stated during a recent two-day collectors' conference, the Odisha government is set to launch the ambitious 'Ama Hospital' programme, which will include the establishment of four new medical colleges and the upgrading of 147 hospitals across the state, reports PTI.
Furthermore, Odisha is in the process of developing a state-of-the-art cancer care institute, reflecting the government's commitment to improving healthcare services and making them more accessible to its citizens.
The PTI report also states that Pandit highlighted that the proposed medical colleges will be established in Kalahandi, Talcher, Jajpur, and Kandhamal and that the state government has already sanctioned Rs 750 crore for this purpose. The Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik, has set a motto of 'every life is precious,' which underlines the government's efforts to prioritise the healthcare services of its citizens.
She said, seven new Medical Colleges have been inaugurated in the past few years while four more medical colleges are in the process. Additionally, the Capital Hospital Bhubaneswar has been upgraded to a Post Graduate Institute. The establishment of Odisha University of Health Sciences is underway, she said, adding that affordable healthcare projects for setting up hospitals providing specialist care have been planned in four locations like Angul, Barbil, Jharsuguda and Bhadrak, in PPP mode.
Pandit also mentioned that the 'Bagchi Srishankar Cancer Hospital' with 750 beds and all modern amenities is being established in the state capital and the Tata Memorial Center is collaborating with the Odisha government and the Department of Atomic Energy to set up a 200-bed-state-of-the-art cancer hospital on the NISER campus.
Finally, the health secretary stressed that Odisha is the first and only state in the country to mandate free treatment for all individuals in all public health facilities, This includes free drugs, diagnostics, surgery, ICU facilities and more.
