Himachal's Healthcare Makeover: A Rs 1800 Crore Initiative

The Himachal government has allocated Rs 1800 crore to modernize medical equipment in hospitals. This initiative aims to prevent economic loss caused by outdated equipment and improve patient diagnosis and treatment. The project includes introducing robotic surgery, advanced diagnostic tools, and the establishment of a new Cancer Care Centre.

The Himachal Pradesh government announced an investment of approximately Rs 1800 crore to replace outdated medical machinery in state-owned hospitals. This move follows studies indicating that late diagnoses, due to antiquated equipment, can raise medical costs by 30-50 per cent per patient.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu spearheaded the initiative, emphasizing the necessity to upgrade medical technology to minimize economic losses. Current data reveals 9.5 lakh residents travel out of state yearly for medical treatments, siphoning off Rs 1350 crore from the state GDP.

A project report by the health department outlines plans for state-of-the-art healthcare services, featuring robotic surgery, advanced radiology, and laboratory tools in government health institutions. An additional 150-bed Cancer Care Centre in Hamirpur and digitization efforts are also on the agenda.