CHANDIGARH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said holistic healthcare has been a priority of his government that has done more work in the health sector than in the previous decades.
“Over 1.5 lakh health and wellness centres are being set up in the country, of which 1.25 lakh have already started functioning,” he said.
In his address to a gathering after inaugurating the Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre at Mullanpur in New Chandigarh, PM Modi said good healthcare did not mean just four walls of a hospital.
“The country wants a system that cares for the poor, saves them from illness and provides affordable treatment,” he said.
“People need not be scared of cancer. I know many people who have defeated it,’’ said the PM, adding the government was working on opening at least one medical college in each district of the country.
“There were less than 400 medical colleges in the country before 2014. Since then around 200 new medical colleges have been opened,” said the PM.
“Our focus is on six aspects, including preventive healthcare, offering services in rural areas, establishing medical colleges in cities, increasing the number of paramedical staff, introducing new technologies and ensuring availability of cheap medicines,’’ the Prime Minister said.
The cancer centre that the PM inaugurated will offer services to 1.5 lakh people.
“In Chandigarh, people from remote areas of Himachal Pradesh come to the PGIMER for treatment. In Bilaspur of Himachal Pradesh, an AIIMS has been built and over here a big facility for cancer treatment is available now,’’ he said.
The Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre is a 300-bed facility equipped with state-of-the-art facilities such as MRI, mammography, digital radiography and brachytherapy to treat all types of cancer.
The centre is built at a cost of over Rs 660 crore by Tata Memorial Centre, an aided institute under the Union Department of Atomic Energy.
The hospital will act as a tertiary care centre to patients not only from Punjab but also from J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was also present at the event.