Bhubaneswar: “Investing in the health system not only saves lives, it is also a crucial investment in the wider economy. Its impact on the society outweighs the impact of many other investments by the government.”
Putting above philosophy in mind, the Odisha Government led by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has embarked upon to transform the healthcare delivery system in the State with the help of a multipronged approach that includes development of state of the art infrastructure and transforming the way services are delivered in the state-run hospitals.
In an effort towards furthering the development agenda of the healthcare services in the state, the Odisha Government has taken a significant decision to transform the SCB Medical College and Hospital, a premier heath institution of the State into an AIIMS plus institution. For this the government has sanctioned a staggering Rs 1000 Crore.
Announcing the decision, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said the premier Medical research institution of the state will be among the top three medicals of India in the coming days. The funds will be used to augment the infrastructure of the two centuries old hospital. With this the Chief Minister has called for setting a global benchmark in affordable and quality healthcare.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, time and again reiterated his dream that every person in Odisha should have access to high quality, affordable healthcare and in this context the State Government has been investing heavily in the health sector.
Notably, last month, the state government had announced major developmental projects in various district headquarter hospitals worth more than Rs 500 crore.
To provide world class healthcare eco system, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has appointed V K Pandian as the Secretary 5-T Initiatives who will be overseeing the crucial part of implementation of the Mo Sarkar program.
Focus on Infrastructure and Medical Colleges in Backward Districts
As part of the big push for infrastructure development of state medicals along with the setting up of new medical colleges in various backward districts including Kandhamal will transform the healthcare delivery mechanism in Odisha. The investment in health sector will definitely pay dividends in the near future.
Patient’s Dignity at High
With the path breaking Mo Sarkar program, the brainchild Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the Government takes feedback from patients on the various parameters that affect the functioning of a hospital and changing the behaviour of the medical staff with the patients and the attendants. It will help change the attitude of the staff towards the patients who need compassion the most and also put the dignity of the patient on high.
Getting Rid of Middleman Menace
Another component of the Mo Sarkar Initiative is curbing bribery in hospitals and getting rid of the middlemen who cheat the gullible patients by diverting them to the private clinics. After the Chief Minister ordered for action against middlemen, more than hundreds of them have been arrested in various cities.
The government has provided for free treatment of patients in all the state-run hospitals along with medicines and various diagnostics. Mo Sarkar program seeks to ensure implementation of these services without any hurdles. The surprise visits by the higher officials will ensure that all are strictly adhering to the transformation initiative.
Direct Feedback from Patient to Make It Better
Monitoring the implementation of the Mo Sarkar program in Hospitals, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik himself has made more than a hundred phone calls to the beneficiaries of health services to take the feedback. The dedicated call centres set up to receive feedback from patients and their relatives are receiving good response and helping authorities to plan changes accordingly. Random visits by various officials to all district hospitals and community hospitals to check the services have helped to improve the service delivery mechanism.
The path breaking and revolutionary steps being taken to overhaul the healthcare system in the state is being seen as an initiative that other state governments should also emulate at their end.
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