Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that the government was making “record investments” on six fronts to strengthen healthcare services in India, while inaugurating the Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in Mohali.
Speaking there, PM Modi said, “The healthcare services are being strengthened on six fronts. The first front is encouraging prevention healthcare. The second one is opening small and modern hospitals. The third front is opening big institutes of medical colleges and research. The fourth front is increasing the number of doctors and paramedical staff in the country. The fifth one is to make medicines available to patients at cheap rates and affordable medical equipment. The sixth is lessening the patients' problems using technology. The Centre is making record investments in these six fronts.”
The Prime Minister, who is on a one-day trip to Haryana and Punjab, emphasized that the healthcare system of the country can be strengthened when the hospitals provide solutions to the problems. The Centre has prioritized holistic healthcare during his tenure, PM Modi said.
“When the people of India will get modern hospitals and facilities for treatment, then they will get well sooner, and their energy will be channelled in the right direction,” the PM added.
He further said, “The meaning of a good healthcare system is not constructing only 4-sided walls. The healthcare system of any country is strengthened only when it provides solution to problems. Holistic healthcare has been placed among the top priorities in the country in the last eight years.”
PM Modi also said that the work that has been undertaken the field of healthcare in the last eight years, has not happened in the last 70.
He recalled his Independence Day address from the Red Fort where he had set the target to make India a developed country by its 100th year of Independence. He had said that developing healthcare services is important to achieve that.
The Prime Minister said, “We recently have taken a pledge to make India a developed country. To make India a developed nation, it's important to develop its health services. When the people of India will get modern hospitals and facilities for treatment, then they will get well sooner, and their energy will be channelled in the right direction. The country has got an advanced hospital in the form of Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre.”
While inaugurating the cancer hospital and research centre, PM Modi dedicated it to the nation as an endeavor to provide world-class cancer care to the people in Punjab and the neighbouring states and union territories.
At the inauguration ceremony of the hospital, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann felicitated PM Modi. It is a tertiary care hospital with a capacity of 300 beds and is equipped with modern facilities capable of treating all types of cancers using every available treatment like surgery, radiotherapy and medical oncology – chemotherapy, immunotherapy and Bone marrow transplant.
The hospital will function as a hub of cancer care and treatment in the region with the 100 bedded hospital in Sangrur.
