India must work on health infra at 100 years of independence: Mandaviya

The goal of the Centre is to work holistically in the health sector with synergy between preventive healthcare and modern medical facilities, said Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday.

He added further that the country has moved away from a 'token' towards a 'total' approach.

"Along with reducing cost of treatment for the poor, efforts are also being made to rapidly increase the number of doctors. We need to think holistically and make the roadmap for long-term. This year, when we are celebrating 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav', we need to work together with a vision of how India's health infrastructure will be when we will complete 100 years of Independence", said Minister Mandaviya, while inaugurating the new state-of-art multi-speciality Out-patient and In-patient blocks at Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC) here today. Dr Bharti Pravin Pawar, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare was also present on the occasion.

The new IPD Block will increase the bed strength of LHMC from 877 to more than 1,000 beds. The IPD Block houses an additional highly sophisticated CT scanner. The new multi-speciality OPD Block has additional facilities for holistic health care, including all medical and surgical specialities, Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy and Homeopathy.

Mandaviya further stated that states play a very crucial role in the implementation of any programme made by the Centre. "During the past 3-days Swasthya Chintan Shivir, held at Kevadia, Gujarat, all State Health Ministers shared their best practices and had a very fruitful discussion about how can we make it Universal", he said.

Underlining the importance of Jan Bhagidari as an important pillar for the implementation of any action plan, programme, or scheme, Mandaviya said, "Making health accessible, affordable and patient-friendly is very important. Our efforts need to be in the direction of advancement of the Nation; the Nation should always come first."

"This medical college has a long history of more than a century. It is important to note that better health facilities are not limited only to the treatment of diseases. They also encourage and promote social justice. When the poor get affordable and quality treatment, their faith in the system gets stronger," said Minister of state for Health Pawar.