NEW DELHI, Nov 22: Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday assured former Meghalaya Health Minister, AL Hek that the Centre will take all steps to accord AIIMS-like status to the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences the status of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, one of the premier health institutes in the Northeast.
NEIGRIHMS imparts undergraduate and postgraduate medical training and also is a working hospital that provides inexpensive medical care to patients. The institute is established on the lines of AIIMS, Delhi and PGIMER Chandigarh, to provide tertiary care to the people of Northeast India.
But the premier health institute remains far behind AIIMS or PGIMER for various reasons. Hek demanded that the liver transplant unit should immediately start in NEIGRIHMS for the benefit of hundreds of patients from the region.
Hek also demanded more funds for the National Health Mission in the hill state. At the same time the health centres at the district level and below should be strengthened, he said.
The BJP leader also demanded increase in the number of medical seats allocated for Meghalaya.
