BIHAR GOVERNMENT TO MODERNIZE HEALTH SERVICE

BIHAR GOVERNMENT TO MODERNIZE HEALTH SERVICE

17-JULY-ENG 9

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

PATNA------------------------Bihar's Health Minister, Nishant, held a high-level review meeting with the principals, superintendents, and directors of major medical institutions in the capital—including PMCH, NMCH, LNJP, IGIMS, IGIC, and Medanta—along with senior officials from the Health Department. Several significant decisions were taken during the meeting with the aim of making the state's health services more effective, modern, and patient-centric.

Directives were issued to compile a list of pending surgeries at district medical colleges and, where necessary, arrange for these surgeries to be performed at institutions like IGIMS, AIIMS, and Medanta to ensure that no patient's surgery remains pending unnecessarily. Instructions were given to formulate an effective action plan for this purpose.

The Health Minister decided to transform the screening process for cervical, breast, and prostate cancers into a mass movement. To achieve this, the active participation of approximately one lakh ASHA workers across the state will be ensured. Additionally, instructions were issued to place special emphasis on regular cancer screening for individuals suffering from hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes, and other non-communicable diseases.

The meeting also placed special emphasis on developing a system to provide services from external specialist doctors at super-specialty hospitals, equipping hospitals with state-of-the-art medical equipment and modern machinery, and ensuring that needy patients receive the maximum benefit from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund and the Ayushman Bharat scheme.

To strengthen emergency health services, it was decided to increase bed capacity in hospitals and develop centralized software to provide real-time information on available emergency beds across the state. Furthermore, instructions were issued to install large display boards in hospitals providing information about departments, specialist doctors, and available health services.

To bolster the healthcare system, directives were issued for the speedy recruitment of personnel to fill vacant posts for OT assistants, OT technicians, data operators, assistant professors, and associate professors. Additionally, all medical colleges and hospitals were ordered to submit an updated waiting list of pending surgeries by Friday. Health Minister Nishant stated that the effective and timely implementation of all these decisions would be ensured so that every patient in the state could access better, accessible, and quality healthcare services.