Maharashtra: CM Shinde calls meeting to revamp ailing healthcare infrastructure

Rs 8,331 crore will be sought through additional budgetary allocation for the plan while another R1,263 crore will be required, it is learnt. Representation pic

The state government will upgrade and create new super-speciality healthcare infrastructure, and double the budgetary expenditure to completely change the public health scenario by 2035. The existing system had faced severe criticism following deaths in some state-run public hospitals because of shortage of medicines and staff. A new plan, called Vision-2035, will be ready in a fortnight.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had convened a meeting on Monday to discuss measures to correct the ailing infrastructure. His deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, the ministers concerned, state chief secretary, the medical education and public health secretaries, district collectors and the officials concerned with both departments, state health task force members, civil surgeons and deans of medical colleges attended the meeting.

Speaking after the meeting, Shinde said the respective district collectors had been made nodal officers and given the authority to buy medicines. A dash board in Mantralaya will track medicine supply and demand on a regular basis. The collectors will also visit state-run medical facilities in their jurisdiction to check on sanitation, drinking water and the upkeep of the centres that are either controlled by the medical education department or public health department.

Plan based on report

After reviewing both departments, the conclave decided to prepare a report on the existing infrastructure within next 15 days. Based on this, a plan to upgrade the existing and create new 34 super-speciality district hospitals is on the anvil. Shinde said when a new medical college will be announced, the work on a hospital to be attached with it will also begin. Ideally, the district or civic hospitals are attached with medical colleges. Since most of them are inadequate, they would be redeveloped to make space for more beds and specialities.

Eknath Shinde, chief minister

"With growing infrastructure, the expenditure will also increase. We will double the expenditure," said the CM.

On the burning question of vacancies of doctors and paramedic staff, Shinde said even the collectors had been authorised to recruit. "A recruitment drive will be taken up on war footing," he added.

The government had announced opening a medical college in each district, barring a few, in the past couple of years. The challenge is to find teachers for the new colleges even while the existing colleges, many of them much older, are short-staffed. The situation in the public health departments is no different, because specialists desist from working in semi-urban and rural environments, said a senior official.

Thirteen district hospitals have been attached with medical colleges and 12 more will go to the medical education department, and 25 districts need their civil hospitals at the earliest. The medical college hospitals will be upgraded further. Hospitals for women will be strengthened further. All state-run hospitals will be provided with state-of-the-art operation theatres.

"Since primary health sub-centres and sub-district hospitals are the first contact point, they also need to be efficient to lessen the burden on district hospitals,"
said Shinde.

The funds required

According to information available, Rs 8,331 crore will be sought through additional budgetary allocation. In addition, Rs 1,263 crore will be required. HUDCO has sanctioned Rs 3,948 crore for health centres and Asian Development Bank has approved a loan of Rs 5,177 crore for health infrastructure. The centre will provide as much required, said a CMO statement.

To ease administration of the public health department, an additional nine divisions will be created. Currently, eight divisions work.

Dy CM Fadnavis suggested a telemedicine facility for the rural and remote areas.

Shinde directed the administration to create a system for this at the earliest.

25
Districts in state that need civil hospitals