BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday announced that a free diagnostic services scheme will be rolled out in the State by the end of this year.
The scheme would provide basic diagnostic services free of cost to the patients across Government hospitals. It would add to the Free Drug Distribution Scheme (FDDS) ‘Niramaya’ that was launched by the Chief Minister here on Tuesday.
Under the scheme, public health laboratories would be established in the district hospitals with state-of-the-art infrastructure and equipment like auto-analysers and Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) machines.
The diagnostic tests would include malaria, dengue, HIV, Hepatitis A, B and E, tuberculosis, water-borne diseases as well as basic tests like Complete Blood Count (CBC), blood sugar, bilirubin, urea, creatinine, sodium and potassium.
The scheme would be managed by the State PSU Odisha Medical Services Corporation (OSMC), which was formally operationalised by Naveen at a function here on Tuesday.
“The State Government is committed to bring about visible improvement in healthcare services with dedicated infrastructure and facilities reaching out to all people. About `500 crore has been provided in the Budget this year, for healthcare sector infrastructure development. We have also announced special incentives for doctors to motivate them to work in remote areas”, the CM said.
He stressed on proper management of the free drug distribution to ensure that the benefits reach the patient in remote parts of the State. Out of pocket expense on healthcare is a major concern. ‘The objective is to support our people on this very front by reducing such expenses,’ he said.
He also announced creation of 598 additional posts of pharmacists for effective functioning of the scheme.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Atanu Sabysachi Nayak said the OSMC will set highest standards for ensuring provisioning of quality medicine to the people.
Among others, Chief Secretary G C Pati, Health Secretary Arti Ahuja and MD OSMC Roopa Mishra spoke.