Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare digitally inaugurated the Radiodiagnosis Facilities (CT, MRI & X-Ray) at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bathinda. The Union Health Minister also inaugurated the MBBS Student Hostel at AIIMS Bathinda.
AIIMS, Bathinda is an apex healthcare institution being established under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojna (PMSSY) by Government of India. It shall have a hospital with capacity of 750 beds which will include Emergency / Trauma Beds, AYUSH Beds, Private Beds and ICU Speciality& Super Speciality beds. As of now, OPD services in Dentistry, Dermatology, ENT, General Medicine, General Surgery, Obst and Gynae, Opthalmology, Orthopaedics, Paediatric Surgery, Psychiatry, Surgical Oncology, Telemedicine, and Urology are operational.
Inaugurating the Super Speciality Block (SSB), Dr Harsh Vardhan congratulated the people of Punjab. He said,“Since the foundation stone was laid in 2016 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, the institution has rapidly progressed. It’s very heartening to see the state-of-the-art facility and equipment that will be available to the people of Bathinda and Punjab”. He also congratulated the medical students who are getting the hostel facility at AIIMS Bhatinda. “The expansion of medical institution will correct the regional imbalances in quality tertiary level healthcare in the country”, he added.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan expressed immense satisfaction with the progress of the work of PMSSY in Punjab. He said, “Setting up of new AIIMS at Bathinda would not only transform health education and training but will also address the shortfall of health care professionals in the region. The establishment of new AIIMS will serve the dual purpose of providing super speciality health care to the population while also help create a large pool of doctors and other health workers in this region.”
The Union Health Minister fondly recalled the Independence Day Address of 2003 of Late Prime Minister Sh. Atal Bihari Vajpayee to set up six AIIMS type hospitals under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana. Dr Harsh Vardhan said, “The dream of Atal ji is being carved in reality under the successful guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji. The number of AIIMS has been increased from 6 to 22 while another 75 existing institutions are envisioned to be upgraded to provide quality tertiary healthcare services.”
On India’s fight against COVID-19, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said, “Since the last ten months, India is persistently fighting the infectious disease. The COVID parameters are showing encouraging progress. Continuously rising Recovery Rate and progressively falling active cases have proven the success of the COVID-19 containment strategy. We have successfully ramped up our testing capacity. From a few thousand tests in a day, we now conduct more than a million tests on a daily basis.”
He expressed deep gratitude and salutations for the tireless and dedicated efforts by all Corona Warriors and expressed grief over the death of those Corona Warriors who sacrificed their lives saving others.
Dr Harsh Vardhan reiterated the commitment of the government towards ensuring primary healthcare to all. “Providing affordable and quality healthcare services is a priority of the government. With the successful implementation of the schemes like Ayushman Bharat Yojana, the dream of New India will be fulfilled by 2022”, he said.
Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Member of Lok Sabha from Bathinda, Punjab, . Om Parkash Soni, Minister, Medical Education & Research, Punjab, Shwait Malik, Member of Rajya Sabha, Sukhbir Singh Badal, Member of Lok Sabha, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Member of Lok Sabha along with senior dignitaries joined the event virtually.