Haryana to upgrade 785 Medical Facilities, says Minister Arti Singh Rao

Chandigarh: Health Minister Arti Singh Rao on Tuesday announced that the Haryana Health Department is accelerating efforts to improve healthcare infrastructure, workforce, and services across the state. A total of 785 medical facilities, including Primary Health Centres (PHCs), Community Health Centres (CHCs), Sub-Health Centres, and Civil Hospitals, are scheduled for upgradation.

The department has hired 720 new doctors and is actively working to fill remaining vacancies in hospitals, she said.

She said 785 medical facilities across the state, including Primary Health Centres (PHCs), Community Health Centres (CHCs), Sub-Health Centres, and Civil Hospitals, are slated for upgradation.

Of these, administrative approval has already been received for 534 facilities, with the rest under process. Regular coordination meetings with the Public Works Department (PWD) are being held to expedite construction and renovation work, Rao said in Panchkula, according to the PTI news agency.

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The minister highlighted the state’s “extensive” efforts to increase First Referral Units (FRUs), which offer specialised maternal and newborn care.

In 2014, Haryana had 41 FRUs, which have now increased to 87. Additional FRUs with specialist services are in the pipeline, she said.

She also spoke about the Ujjwal Drishti Haryana Abhiyan, a first-of-its-kind statewide campaign launched this month, which includes providing free spectacles to school children.

Over 1.4 lakh spectacles have already been distributed simultaneously across 22 district hospitals, 50 sub-divisional hospitals, and 122 community health centres.

Eye examinations of nearly 21 lakh students in 14,267 government schools are underway, and approximately 40,000 students identified with visual impairments will receive free eyeglasses, she said.

Rao said Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini is set to inaugurate several health infrastructure projects worth approximately Rs 2,256 crore across all districts, and lay the foundation stones of additional projects totalling Rs 594 crore by next month.

She said the number of MBBS seats in Haryana has risen from 700 in 2014 to 2,185 today. With new medical colleges being established in Bhiwani and Charkhi Dadri, another 300 MBBS seats will be added by the end of this year, she said.

The number of post-graduate (MD/MS) seats, which stood at 289 in 2014, has increased to 874.

To bolster nursing education, six government nursing colleges are under construction. The Rewari college has already been inaugurated, while 90 per cent construction of the remaining five colleges is complete.

In the domain of AYUSH, Haryana will establish Shri Krishna Ayush University in FY 2025-26 on 100 acres in Fatehpur village, Kurukshetra, she stated. The university will offer 63 BAMS seats, 82 PG seats, and 63 seats for Diploma in Pharmacy.

Additionally, Ayush Herbal parks will be established in Rewari and Jind, and a Government Homoeopathic College is proposed in Chandpura village, Ambala.

On the state’s sex ratio, the minister said the numbers have been steadily improving over the last two to three years due to strict enforcement.

Reverse tracking of suspected illegal abortions is being carried out, and over-the-counter sales of medical termination of pregnancy pills have been banned, contributing to a positive shift in the trend, she said.

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