Guwahati, Sep 14: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday said that the health sector in the state was set for further upgrade in the coming years in line with the state government’s resolution of transforming Assam into one of the top-performing states on various healthcare-related parameters.
Sarma said that the manifestation of that very resolution has led to the revolutionary changes in the state’s healthcare sector as compared to the scenario of yesteryears.
“From just three medical colleges in the recent past, the state can boast of nine institutions dedicated to the study of medical sciences,” he said, while adding the plan is to take the number of medical colleges to 16 by 2026.
He further said that from just a single cancer hospital earlier, the state now has nine hospitals dedicated to cancer care.
“In few years, the total number of cancer hospitals in Assam would go up to 18. Besides, with the nine medical colleges set to produce 1100 doctors annually, the issue of manpower crunch in the public sector healthcare sector shall be a thing of the past,” Sarma said while inaugurating the Kaliabor sub-division civil hospital in Nagaon district.
Built at a cost of Rs 16.25 crore, the three-storied state-of-the-art hospital has a total floor area of 3,236 square metres.
The chief minister said the inauguration of the civil hospital at Kaliabor would be a step forward in ensuring every resident of the state, irrespective of his or her socio-economic status, has access to affordable and modern healthcare.
The chief minister further added that the government has been contemplating upgrading the sub-divisional civil hospital to a 200-bed “district hospital”.
He also expressed gratitude towards Boeing India for donating the high-tech equipment, including CT-scan machines, in the hospital.
Referring to the better-than-national-average maternal mortality rate (MMR) of Assam, the chief minister said the aim for the government now was to ensure quality healthcare for all.
“There is a lot of focus on imparting specialised training to healthcare workers and modernisation of health infrastructure,” he added.
