New Delhi, December 29 (IANS). Union Health and Family Welfare Minister J.P. Nadda on Monday chaired an important high-level review meeting with Haryana Health Minister Aarti Singh Rao and senior officials of the state. The main objective of the meeting was to evaluate the delivery of health services in the state, strengthen the implementation of national health programs and further strengthen Centre-State coordination.
In the meeting, Nadda laid special emphasis on strengthening the public health system, ensuring patient-centred care, increasing regulatory oversight and eliminating TB (tuberculosis) as a public health problem. He said that continuous monitoring in the pharmaceutical supply chain is essential to ensure the quality and safety of medicines. The Minister called upon the authorities to institutionalize better regulatory processes and improve patient satisfaction, compliance and monitoring.
Discussing the free medicine and free diagnostics schemes, Nadda stressed on strong supply chain and effective monitoring system. He highlighted the important role of diagnostics and said that timely and high quality testing is the foundation of effective healthcare. He called for professional management in hospital administration, strict monitoring of blood banks, hospital systems and safety standards.
The Minister directed to set up ‘Amrit’ retail pharmacy in every district hospital of the state. Up to 50 percent discount will be available on branded medicines in these pharmacies. A call was made to expedite this work in collaboration with HLL Lifecare Limited. This will provide affordable and reliable medicines to the patients.
Emphasizing on technology-based health services, Nadda described telemedicine as an effective medium to provide quality health care in remote and underserved areas. He appreciated the adoption of telemedicine by Haryana and advised to integrate it deeply into the routine service.
Reiterating the resolve for a TB-free India, the Minister called for greater focus on screening, diagnostics, treatment compliance and nutrition support. He informed about the arrangements for early detection through AI-enabled handheld X-ray units and ‘NAAT’ machines at the block level. More than 350 My Bharat volunteers in Haryana are providing psycho-social support to TB patients by joining the Ni-Kshay Mitra initiative.
He suggested organizing sensitization workshops for MLAs so that regular coordination with district councils and chief medical officers is increased. Public participation was described as an important part of the success of health programs.
He reiterated the Centre’s support to Haryana through NHM interventions, PPP model, medical education expansion and infrastructure and said similar meetings would be held with other states, as was done with Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh last week.
Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava, DCGI Dr. Rajiv Singh Raghuvanshi along with senior officials of the Ministry and Additional Chief Secretary from Haryana Sudhir Rajpal, Commissioner Manoj Kumar etc. were present in the meeting.
–IANS
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