Bhubaneswar: At least 2,473 medical officers have been inducted into the State medical services. About 2,392 of them are MBBS doctors, and 81 are dental surgeons. An orientation programme was graced by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, which was held today at Kalinga Stadium here.

This induction of new medical officers will further strengthen the healthcare delivery system of the State.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that our objective is to see transformation in every sector, every region. He further said that this transformation should touch every individual’s life bringing a sense of advancement in all spheres of life. Healthcare is a priority area of our 5T transformative initiative.

Addressing the new doctors, the CM said that as young doctors, they can contribute immensely to this drive. “Just ensure that every patient feels a positive vibe when he or she visits you. Along with your professional excellence, your humane approach to patients can create confidence in them,” he said.

The CM further said, “Remember that every pie spent on our salary, or for the building we are working in, is paid by the people of Odisha. We are here to serve them.”

Welcoming the doctors to the state’s healthcare system, the CM congratulated the family members of the new doctors. He said that along with the successful candidates, their family members have also made immense sacrifices for the candidates’ success.

The CM added that his Government is committed to providing universal access to quality healthcare services to all. “Our objective is ‘Sustha Odisha, Sukhi Odisha’. Our guiding principle to achieve this objective is ‘every life is precious’,” the CM stated.

“In realisation of this goal, we are on a mission for massive infrastructure development in our healthcare institutions. We are producing eight times more doctors now than we were doing two decades ago. We will come up with more number of medical colleges in a few years from now,” the CM assured.

Patnaik further said, “We are also making recruitments for medical and para-medical officers on a large scale. In the current year alone, we have made recruitments for 3600 medical officers. In November, nearly 4000 nursing officers have also joined the state government.”

The CM further said that to improve the quality of healthcare and achieve a desirable patient experience, we are converting our hospitals to ‘Ama Hospitals’. Patient care in all government facilities is completely free of cost.

It may be mentioned here that Due to the high priority given by the State Government to the Health Sector, in the past six years eight new Medical Colleges and two new Post Graduate Institutes have been established in the State. This has resulted in the production of 2,525 MBBS doctors and 856 specialists each year, making Odisha a doctor-surplus State.

The Chief Minister also distributed high-quality stethoscopes to each of the newly recruited medical officers and Dental Kit to newly recruited dental surgeons. The medical officers have been posted to different districts through a transparent merit-based online counselling system.