Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah Thursday reaffirmed his endeavour to catapult Jammu and Kashmir’s healthcare sector so that people are not compelled to visit outside the State for modern treatment. Inaugurating advanced diagnostic and treatment equipments and other patient care facilities at Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Science (SKIMS), Soura here, the Chief Minister said that while priority attention is being given to improve and upgrade healthcare facilities in the rural areas, the equal thrust is on providing modern health gadgets in the hospitals of tertiary care nature.Omar Abdullah said that by upgrading rural hospitals and health centres, the huge population living in the villages will not be travelling to towns and cities for the treatment which could be provided to them in their native villages. “This aspect has been focused and expansion and consolidation of healthcare centres is carried forward simultaneously besides providing specialists and Para-medics in the government hospitals all across the State”, he said and added that the centrally sponsored flagship programme in this regard besides various State sponsored schemes are being implemented to achieve the results and enhance treatment facility for the patients in the rural areas.
The Chief Minister said that installation of latest medical equipments at SKIMS, Super Specialty Hospital Jammu, District Hospitals and other hospitals associated with Medical Colleges is a continuous process. He said these hospitals have been well-equipped and upgraded both in service delivery and modern gadgets during the last about five years.Omar Abdullah underlined the need for providing best treatment to the patients in the government health institutions and asked the doctors to render the public service with highest degree of responsibility and commitment towards the society.The equipments and healthcare facilities which the Chief Minister inaugurated today include Rs. 15.11 crore Linear Accelerator, Rs. 3.31 crore Multi-Slice CT Scan, Rs. 1.86 crore Brachytherapy, Rs. 2.16 crore Gama Camera, Rs. 3.32 crore CVTS-ICU, Urology Labs, Rs. 2.90 crore 5 P and 4 P ward, Rs. 1.20 crore Neonatology (New NICU) and Rs. 1.50 crore lifts in SKIMS Soura.
Facilities of Rs. 5.6 crore Lecture Hall Complex and Auditorium and Rs. 3.31 core Multi-Slice CT Scan have also been created in the SKIMS Medical College Hospital, Bemina.Director SKIMS, Prof. Showkat Ali Zargar presented brief about the importance of new medical gadgets installed in SKIMS and Bemina Hospital and also presented the status of the functioning of these hospitals.