Doctors must strive to live up to people's expectations: CM

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal Wednesday urged doctors to strive to live up to people's expectations through dedicated service as they pursue a noble profession.

"Doctors pursue a noble profession and society gives special status to them as they render life-saving services to those who are in need and so they must also strive to live up to the people's expectations through dedicated service", Sonowal said in his address at the Second Convocation of the Srimanta Sankaradeva University of Health Sciences here.

The state government was working hard to develop the public health care sector and setting up of several new medical colleges to produce doctors in a bid to realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of making a healthy nation, he said.

The chief minister urged the new generation of doctors to work in rural areas so that people of those areas could avail better healthcare services.

The infrastructure facilities in the interior places have improved considerably and young doctors should go to work in villages to improve public healthcare facilities, he said.

Sonowal also urged the doctors and medical specialists of the state to help make Assam a medical hub of South East Asia taking advantage of Act East Policy initiated by the prime minister.

Assam Health and Family Welfare minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that total seat capacity in medical colleges of the state has been increased to 726 from earlier 391 and would soon be further increased to 1000.

The state government has taken steps to start new courses like biomedical engineering and the government's endeavour to take Rs 3,000 crore loan from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) would positively impact medical education in the state, he added.

Director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi Dr Randeep Guleria said that doctors have an important role to play in nation building process and they must render their services with a humane outlook while facing challenges in delivering holistic healthcare services.

The chief minister presented degree and diploma certificates to students of Srimanta Sankaradeva University of Health Sciences and also conferred lifetime achievement awards to 10 doctors for their contributions to the medical field.