147 hospitals to be upgraded, 4 more medical colleges to come up: Odisha Health Secretary Shalini Pandit

Bhubaneswar: As many as 147 hospitals in the State will be upgraded as part of ‘Ama Hospital’ programme under the Odisha government’s 5T initiative and an amount of Rs 750 crore will be allocated for the purpose, informed health secretary Shalini Pandit at a press conference here today. Speaking at the Senior Officers Conference at the Healthcare session themed ‘Quality healthcare for all – Ama Hospital and BSKY”, Pandit said while seven Medical Colleges have already been set up in Odisha, efforts are on to set up four more in Kalahandi, Talcher, Jajpur and Kandhamal. The Odisha government is also in the process of establishing dedicated cancer and cardiac care hospitals in Jharsuguda in PPP mode.

Elaborating on the measures taken by the government, Pandit said a decision has been taken to run specialty hospitals on public private partnership (PPP) mode in Angul, Barbil, Jharsuguda and Bhadrak, and complete the Odisha University of Health Sciences by 2023. Besides, around 500 more hospitals are empanelled outside Odisha as part of expansion of Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana, she added.

Other measures taken include upgradation of the Capital Hospital into a Post Graduate Institute. To defeat cancer, Bagchi Srishankar Cancer Hospital with 750 beds and all modern amenities is being established in the State Capital. Another 200-bed State of the Art Cancer Hospital is in process of being set up by the Tata Memorial Centre in collaboration with the Odisha government and Department of Atomic Energy in the NISER campus.

Answering queries on vacant posts, Pandit said 3,000 doctors have been selected through Odisha State Public Service Commission (OPSC), all of whom will receive the appointment letters in September and there are plans to recruit 5,000 more doctors through the same process.

The panel discussion also revolved around patient-centric transformation of hospitals under 5T, and the importance of Collectors in monitoring the scheme. Collectors were advised on empanelment of all good hospitals under BSKY and regular surveillance on medical services. Ganjam Collector Dibya Jyoti Parida, Balangir Collector Chanchal Rana and Deogarh Collector Somesh Upadhayay participated among others.