STATE TIMES NEWS
SRINAGAR: Minister for Health and Medical Education, Bali Bhagat on Monday sought the support of legislators for improving the health sector in the State.
Revealing a slew of measures initiated by the Government during its short stint of two months to rejuvenate the health sector, Bali Bhagat said that implementation of Free Drug Policy from 1st June in all the health institutions (except tertiary hospitals). Most of the essential drugs will be available to the patients free of cost in the health institutions and doctors have been instructed to prescribe all the available drugs to the patients and the prescriptions will also be put to audit regularly to strictly enforce the policy.
To prevent the pilferage of medicines from government health institutions, the government has devised a foolproof mechanism and government supply will be of a specific colour coding strips/packing of Cyan Blue colour which will differentiate between government and outside medicines. This mechanism will ensure zero pilferage of Government medicines, however, the Government will deal sternly with any act of pilferage of Government drugs and other material.
To augment the ambulatory services in the State, the Minister said that Government of India has provided an amount of Rs. 13.47 crore for procurement of 130 Basic Life Support Ambulances and the department is in the process of procurement of these ambulances through the J&K Medical Supplies Corporation Limited.
Under another remarkable initiative the Department will soon launch 102 Advance Life Support/Basic Life Support Ambulance Services comprising 450 ambulances to ensure the ambulatory services at the doorsteps of the patients.
To undertake the tests for various food items and drugs, the State Government will strengthen the existing Food Testing Laboratories at Srinagar and Jammu with a funding provision of Rs. 6.00 Crore. Moreover, Rs. 1.75 Crore has also been released for procurement of 05 mobile food testing vans, the Minister informed.
Later, the Legislative Assembly passed the grants of Health ands Medical Education Department, for the year 2016-17, which were moved by the Minister, amounting to Rs 3036.61 crore with voice vote. The members, who moved the Cut Motions on the Grants, withdrew after the satisfactory reply from the Minister.
