Faridabad/Mohali [India]: In a major boost to health care facilities in the northern region of the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday inaugurated a cancer hospital and research centre in Mohali and Amrita Hospital in Faridabad.
Speaking at the inauguration of Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre to the Nation at Mohali, the Prime Minister said that the anticipated launch of Made in India 5G services will revolutionise the remote healthcare sector in the country. “This will reduce the compulsion of the patients from poor families of the village to visit the big hospitals time and again”, he said.
He said to make India a developed country, it is important to develop its health services.
The Prime Minister had urged people to make India a developed country in the next 25 years.
Noting that holistic healthcare has been placed among the top priorities in the country in the last eight years, he said the health facilities of the country are being improved by working together on six fronts.
Elaborating on all six fronts, he said the first is the promotion of preventive healthcare, the second is to open small and modern hospitals in villages, the third is to open medical colleges and big medical research institutes in cities, fourth is to increase the number of doctors and paramedical staff across the country, fifth is to provide cheap medicines, cheap equipment to the patients, and the sixth is to reduce the difficulties faced by patients by using technology.
Talking about the preventive approach, the Prime Minister said that due to the Jal Jeevan Mission, the number of patients suffering from waterborne diseases has gone down considerably.
Similarly, cleanliness, Yoga, fitness trends, Poshan Abhiyan and the spread of cooking have helped in bringing down the number of patients.
On the second front, quality testing facilities have been created and more than 1.5 lakh health and wellness centres are being established. In Punjab, about 3000 such centres are functioning. All over the country, more than 22 crore people have been screened for cancer out of which 60 lakh screenings took place in Punjab.
The Prime Minister said once the disease is detected, the need for such advanced hospitals arises where serious ailments can be treated properly.
The Prime Minister highlighted that the central government is working on the target of at least one medical college in every district of the country.
The Ayushman Bharat scheme under health infrastructure mission is creating modern health facilities at the district level at the cost of Rs 64,000, he added.
He said there were only seven AIIMS in the country earlier but that number has gone up to 21 now.
The government has approved about 40 specialized cancer institutes across the country, out of which many hospitals have already started providing services.
The Prime Minister emphasised that it is important to build a hospital and it is equally important to have a sufficient number of good doctors, and other paramedics as well.
The Prime Minister reiterated that this work is being carried out on mission mode in the country today.
“Before 2014, there were less than 400 medical colleges in the country. That is, less than 400 medical colleges in 70 years. In the last eight years, more than 200 new medical colleges have been built in the country.” the Prime Minister said.
He pointed out that the government has also recognized more than 5 lakh AYUSH doctors as allopathic doctors and it has helped in improving the doctor-patient ratio in India.
Ayushman Bharat has provided free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh to the poor and 3.5 crore patients have been treated under the scheme and many were cancer patients.
The Ayushman Bharat Scheme has saved about Rs 40,000 crore rupees of patients. He informed that more than 500 medicines for cancer treatment witnessed up to 90 per cent reduction in price, saving up to Rs 1,000 crore.
The Prime Minister said that for the first time, modern technology was being incorporated in the health sector on such a large scale.
He said Ayushman Bharat Digital Health Mission is ensuring every patient gets quality healthcare facilities, on time, with minimum hassle.
The Prime Minister also emphasised on the need to help patients and families in fighting the depression caused by cancer.
“As a progressive society, it is also our responsibility to bring change and openness in our thinking about mental health. Then only the right solution will be found for this problem.”
The hospital has been built at the cost of over Rs. 660 crore by Tata Memorial Centre, an aided institute under the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India.
The cancer Hospital is a tertiary care hospital with a 300-bed capacity. It is equipped with modern facilities to treat all types of cancers.
Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh were among those present on the occasion.
Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister inaugurated the state-of-the-art Amrita Hospital at Faridabad.
Managed by Mata Amritanandamayi Math, the super-speciality hospital in Faridabad will be equipped with 2600 beds. The hospital, which is being constructed at an estimated cost of around Rs 6000 crore, will provide state-of-the-art healthcare facilities to the people of Faridabad and the entire NCR region.
The Prime Minister said as the country is entering the Amrit Kaal and collective aspirations and resolutions are taking shape, it is fitting that the country is getting the nectar of blessings of Sri Mata Amritanandamayi.
He said that this hospital is a blend of modernity and spirituality and will become a medium of accessible and affordable treatment for needy patients. “Amma is the embodiment of love, compassion, service and sacrifice. She is the carrier of India’s spiritual tradition”, he said.
Dwelling on the great tradition of service and medicine of India, the Prime Minister said, “India is a nation where treatment is a service, wellness is a charity. Where health and spirituality, both are related to each other. We have medical science as a Veda. We have also given the name of Ayurveda to our medical science.”
He reminded the gathering that India never allowed its spiritual and service legacy to go into oblivion even during the difficult period of slavery for centuries.
He noted that spiritual energy in the form of saints like Amma pervaded all corners of the country.
The Prime Minister added that the system of discharging the responsibilities related to education and medicine by religious and social institutions is in a way the PPP model of old times.
“It is called Public-Private Partnership but I also see it as ‘Paraspar Prayas’ (mutual effort)”, the PM said.
Referring to the Made in India COVID-19 vaccine and “propaganda unleashed by some people”, he said many kinds of rumours started spreading in the society and when religious and spiritual teachers of the society came together and asked the people not to pay heed to the rumours, the effect was immediate. India did not face the kind of vaccine hesitancy as seen in other countries.
Recalling his address to the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort, the Prime Minister said he has placed a vision of the five vows of Amrit Kaal in front of the country and one of these five vows is complete renunciation of the mentality of slavery.
“When we give up this mindset, the direction of our actions also changes,” he said, adding that this change is visible in the healthcare system of the country as there is growing faith in the traditional knowledge of the country.
Yoga has global acceptance today and the world will celebrate International Millet Year next year.
He said Haryana is one of the leading states in the country where every house has been connected with a piped water facility.
Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, Chief Minister Manohar Lal, Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, Union Minister Shri Krishan Pal Gurjar and Sri Mata Amritanandamayi were among those present on the occasion.
