Gandhinagar: For a developed nation, ensuring a healthy and fit society is of utmost importance. Narendra Modi had always prioritised a robust healthcare system in Gujarat during his tenure as the Chief Minister.

Even today, as the Prime Minister of India, he continues to stress upon the idea of modernising health infrastructure and making it accessible. Special emphasis has been laid on the health and well-being of the poor and slum dwellers and economically weaker sections, both in rural and urban areas.

Narendra Modi has imbibed the mantra of ‘Healthy Gujarat, Prosperous Gujarat’ to bring improvement in the healthcare services for 6.5 crore Gujaratis. Following his footsteps, the current Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and his administration has further strengthened the health sector through a slew of schemes and initiatives.

Gujarat equipped with world-class healthcare facilities

Today, hospitals such as the U.N Mehta Institute of Cardiology & Research Centre, Institute of Kidney Disease and Research Centre, Gujarat Cancer Research Institute, and M&J Institute of Ophthalmology, provide world-class treatments to patients from Gujarat and across the country. Moreover, 750-bedded AIIMS is also being constructed at Rajkot, where people will benefit from state-of-the-art health facilities.

Besides these institutions providing advanced services, Primary Health Centres and Community Health Centres have also been set up across the state for quality and affordable health facilities in remote areas. In addition, over 300 Jan Aushadhi Kendras are functioning in Gujarat under the Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana where over 1,600 essential medicines and 250 surgical items are available at nominal rates.

Gujarat has also taken a huge stride in the traditional medicines with WHO’s Global Centre for Traditional Medicine being set up at Jamnagar, Gujarat. With this, the state is also on its way to develop medical tourism in the region.

Free COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign

An indigenous COVID-19 vaccine was invented and administered to the people at free of cost in a phased manner. Under the guidance of the Prime Minister, Gujarat has achieved significant milestones during this large-scale free mass vaccination campaign. So far, over 12.71 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the state. Besides, over 1.79 crore people have also been given precautionary doses. Over 28,51,000 children have also been vaccinated.

Additionally, campaigns like ‘Har Ghar Dastak’ (door-to-door vaccination), ‘Maru Gam, Corona Mukt Gam’ and later ‘Maru Ward, Corona Mukt Ward’ were successfully implemented in Gujarat.

Investing in Medical Education & Research

To aid medical students in receiving the best education in Gujarat, the number of medical seats have been increased. In total, 2,770 MBBS seats and 590 PG seats have been increased in the state. Whereas, in the last eight years, 12 new medical colleges have been sanctioned.

Besides, medical education in the state consists of 6 Government Medical Colleges, 6 Teaching Hospitals, 2 Government Dental Colleges and Affiliated Hospitals, 1 M&J Institute of Ophthalmology, 1 Government Spine Institute, 5 Government Physiotherapy Colleges, 8 GMERS Medical Colleges, 8 GMERS Hospitals, 3 Grant-In-Aid Super Specialty Hospitals (Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre, UN Mehta Institute of Cardiology and Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute) and 8 Government Nursing Colleges.

Today, 48 government institutes are functional and provide graduate and post-graduate courses training to medical students along with specialised treatments to patients.

Health cover to 2.68 crore people under PM-JAY

Today, quality and affordable healthcare facilities are available to people in remote areas of the state. Through health fairs organised under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, health facilities and services have been easily delivered to the people in about 6,000 talukas and village levels of the country. In Gujarat, 1.48 crore PM-JAY MA cards have been issued and 2.68 crore people have received health cover of up to ₹5 lakhs.

Nutrition schemes for Mother & Children

The then Chief Minister Narendra Modi always laid special importance towards the health of women and children of Gujarat. Under his leadership, Gujarat became the first state in the country to have digitalised health records of expectant mothers. With 20 years of sustained efforts by the state government, the institutional deliveries have reached 99.5% today, resulting in a drastic reduction in maternal and child mortality.

Along with this, nutrition schemes essential for the health of pregnant and lactating mothers and their children have been effectively implemented in Gujarat.

Under Kasturba Poshan Sahay Yojana (KPSY), total assistance of ₹508.72 crore has been provided to 25,43,622 beneficiaries to bring down the Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) by preventing the spread of diseases such as anemia and malnutrition among pregnant women.

Under the guidance of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Mukhyamantri Matrushakti Yojana has also been launched to provide nutritious food to pregnant and lactating mothers and their newborns for initial 1,000 days i.e from pregnancy up to two years. Along with this, the coverage of ‘Poshan Sudha Yojana’, which provides nutritious food to pregnant and lactating mothers, has now been implemented in all 14 tribal districts of Gujarat.

Khilkhilat ambulances, which provide free health services to mothers and their newborns, has increased from 174 to 463. These ambulances have benefited around 64,00,000 beneficiaries across the state.

Effective Implementation of 108 Ambulance Services

Since 2007, toll-free 108 Ambulance Service launched under the leadership of the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi is providing integrated emergency services across Gujarat during emergencies on a 24×7 basis through the 108-toll free number.

This service started with 14 ambulanced and reached to 802, including 2 boat ambulances.

With its rising popularity, reliability, and efficiency, the 108-ambulance service is receiving an unprecedented response from the citizens. Gujarat ranks first in the country for its 108 emergency ambulance services which provide immediate treatment to patients during accidents or health issues.

Recently, PM Narendra Modi dedicated and laid foundation stone of various healthcare projects worth ₹1,275 crore at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital.

 

This includes inauguration of country’s largest 850-bedded Kidney Hospital equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, block-C of Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute in Civil Medi-city and inauguration of newly constructed building of UN Mehta Institute of Cardiology and Research Centre, new super specialty hospital at Sola Civil Hospital Campus, sub-district hospital at Bhiloda and Anjar and medical girls’ hostel at Asarwa Civil Campus and foundation stone of Rain basera (shelter homes).

The Prime Minister also inaugurated a total of 188 dialysis centers and 22-day care chemotherapy centers at district headquarters under the ‘One Gujarat-One Dialysis’ program of the state government. A total of 270 dialysis centers were made operational under the Gujarat Dialysis Program (GDP).

Gujarat has been successful in establishing a strong health infrastructure in the last two decades. The Government of Gujarat, under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel is committed to developing the state’s health infrastructure and facilities to promote the health and well-being of the citizens.

DeshGujarat