Inaugurating the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the Centre was working to bring affordable health care to remote locations.
He said the government wanted to ensure ease of living for the poor and the middle class and minimise their medical expenses. Mr. Modi also laid the foundation stone of the Medical Device Park at Nalagarh.
AIIMS, Bilaspur, has been constructed at a cost of ₹1,470 crore. The 750-bed hospital offers 18 specialty and 17 super-specialty departments, a release from the Health Ministry said.
“Ayushman Bharat scheme is providing most of the families in the State free treatment upto ₹5 lakh rupees,” the Prime Minister said. He added that for a very long time, the thinking was that facilities like education, roads, industries and hospitals were meant for big cities only. As far as remote hilly areas were concerned, even basic facilities reached there last. This, the Prime Minister said, had created a huge imbalance in the development of the country.
“People of Himachal Pradesh were forced to go to Chandigarh or Delhi for small issues. However, in the last eight years, the double-engine government changed all that. Things have changed for the better now,’’ he said.
Spread over 247 acres, AIIMS-Bilaspur is equipped with 24-hour emergency and dialysis facilities, modern diagnostic facilities like ultrasonography, CT scan, MRI etc. and also a 30-bed AYUSH block, said the Health Ministry release.
The hospital has also set up a Centre for Digital Health to provide health services in inaccessible tribal areas of Himachal Pradesh.
Also, specialist health services will be provided by the hospital through health camps in the Himalayan regions of Kaza, Saluni, and Keylong.
The hospital will admit 100 students for the MBBS course and 60 students for nursing courses every year.
The hospital — whose foundation stone was laid by the Prime Minister in October 2017 — has been established under the Central sector scheme Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana.
