NEW DELHI: The Delhi government on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Centre for implementation of Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) in the capital.
The MoU signing event happened in the presence of Union Health Minister JP Nadda and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta who were present there with her whole cabinet.
“It is a moment of pride that 36 lakh people in Delhi will be benefitted by the AB PM-JAY scheme. 8.19 Crore people have already availed treatment under the scheme and the government has cumulatively spent a total of Rs 1.26 lakh crore for the same,” Nadda said. Rekha Gupta informed that an amount of Rs 1749 Crore has been approved for the establishment of 1139 Urban Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAM), the strengthening of 11 Integrated Public Health Laboratories (IPHLs), and 9 Critical Care Blocks (CCBs) under PM-ABHIM during the scheme period.
She added that the health and wellness centres, now referred to as Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, that will be constructed under PM-ABHIM will provide much better facilities than the mohalla clinics that had been started in porta cabins on the side of the roads and next to drains.
“It will provide mother and child care services, immunisation, elder care, and treatment for several non-communicable diseases. The integrated labs, one in each district, will ensure that people can get their tests done quickly. And, critical care blocks will be started in prominent Delhi hospitals, which will get new ICUs and OTs under the mission,” said Gupta. In the event, the Health Minister and other dignitaries also distributed Ayushman cards to 30 beneficiaries of AB PM-JAY in Delhi.
These beneficiaries represented a different socio-economic profile of the population of the UT.