Maharashtra CM Pushes for Modernized Public Health Facilities Across State

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis has recently chaired a Public Health Department review meeting at the Vidhan Bhavan.

During the meeting, CM Fadnavis emphasized the importance of ensuring quality healthcare facilities for citizens within a 5 km radius. He directed that most healthcare schemes and services should be available online.

He further proposed establishing a Public Health Infrastructure Corporation and developing modern healthcare infrastructure to facilitate this. He also highlighted the need for improved coordination between the Public Health and Medical Education departments.

The CM underscored the importance of revising outdated processes and ensuring that primary health centers provide the maximum number of treatments. Taking inspiration from Tamil Nadu's healthcare system, the aim is to deliver 13 healthcare services at primary health centers.

Public Health Secretary Dr Nipun Vinayak and Secretary Virendra Singh had earlier visited Tamil Nadu’s healthcare system and presented their observations and recommendations for improving Maharashtra’s health sector.

The directives outlined in the meeting included increasing the number of specialist doctors, introducing new healthcare facilities, modernizing district and sub-district hospitals, and accelerating the establishment of "Ayushman Health Temples" in rural regions. Additionally, strict measures must be adopted to regulate treatment costs.

The state government is focused on providing accessible and affordable healthcare services. CM Fadnavis instructed the authorities to conduct detailed studies and submit reports promptly for implementation.

The meeting was attended by Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif, Public Health Minister Prakash Abitkar, Minister of State for Health Meghna Bordikar, and Chief Secretary Sujata Saunik.

The meeting also had the presence of senior officials, including Additional Chief Secretaries OP Gupta (Finance), Rajgopal Deora (Planning), Vikas Kharge (CMO), and Dheeraj Kumar (Medical Education); Principal Secretary Ashwini Bhide; Secretary Dr Shrikar Pardeshi; Public Health Department Secretaries Dr Nipun Vinayak and Virendra Singh; Medical Education Commissioner Rajiv Nivatkar; and National Health Mission Commissioner Amogothu Nayak.

Recently, Maharashtra Govt initiated Maha Arogya Abhiyan as a comprehensive healthcare program to enhance medical accessibility for the state's underserved and rural communities.

Aligned with India’s National Health Mission (NHM), the initiative strives to provide all citizens with free medical services, preventive checkups, and essential treatments, focusing on rural and tribal populations.

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