‘Plan to raise level of treatment in hospitals’

LUCKNOW: The state government has planned to raise the level of treatment in hospitals to bring it at par with medical colleges.

Health minister Siddharthnath Singh said on Friday that a mockery was made of health care in the previous regime but the new health policy coming soon would take care of some basic but important issues in the system.

“A 1,500 bed hospital was established in Saifai but where the doctors would come from was not given a thought,” he said at the 149th Foundation Day function of Balrampur hospital here.

Singh was the chief guest while minister of state for health Mahendra Singh was special guest.

The health minister also outlined some new initiatives in the health sector.

The health policy, he said, was almost final and had special focus on prevention of diseases troubling people in the state. “We got JE vaccination done to check Japanese Encephalitis and this year our target is 66 lakh vaccinations. There are several issues such as birth of underweight babies in large numbers but no one has ever focused on its cause,” he said while explaining various aspects of the new health policy.

Under telemedicine, he said ambulances would be equipped with systems that could transfer a patient’s ECG report electronically. “It will be the first in the country and I am sure all states will start such a system once we do it,” he said.

Hospital director Dr Rajiv Lochan, medical superintendent Dr BKS Chauhan, chief medical superintendent Dr Rishi Saxena and other senior officers were present at the event.

“R&D wing in hospitals is also in the policy as we wish to raise the level of hospitals to treat diseases that at some time were considered rare but are now common. I wish to strike a balance between medical institutes and hospitals,” he said, adding: “All the equipment demanded for Balrampur hospital will be provided and there will be a major change before its next Foundation Day”.

THE NEW HEALTH POLICY, SAID HEALTH MINISTER SIDDHARTHNATH SINGH, WAS ALMOST FINAL AND HAD SPECIAL FOCUS ON PREVENTION OF DISEASES TROUBLING PEOPLE IN THE STATE.