Health policy worked in silos before 2017, govt made it holistic: JP Nadda

Union health minister J P Nadda on Saturday said the policy on health was working in silos before 2017 and used to take care of only the curative part.

However, the Union government came out with a healthcare policy which was inclusive and holistic, he said after inaugurating a centre for nephrology and urology at Symbiosis University Hospital and Research Centre here.  "Before 2017, we had a policy of health which was working in silos. It was a policy which took care of the curative part. The number of hospitals, dispensaries and institutes we made, it was all curative. But in 2017, we came out with a policy which was holistic, inclusive, which had preventive, promotive, curative, palliative, rehabilitative and gyratic parts," said Nadda. T  is policy incorporates everything from the first to the last breath, Nadda added. "Under the National Quality Assurance Standards (NWAS) currently there are 30,000 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs and the government's target is to create 1.75 lakh of these in the immediate future to deliver comprehensive primary health care which is universal and free to users with focus on wellness and delivery of an expanded range of services closer to the community," he said.  Symbiosis Arogyadham is a prime example of Ayushman Arogya Mandir where state of the art facilities are available to the patients at no cost, he said.