Shimla, Oct 18 Himachal Pradesh government has set a target of increasing the doctor strength to 80-85 per cent of the total requirement by next year, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Sunday.
Speaking after inaugurating Blocks 1 and 2 of Phase IV of the Armsdale Building at the state secretariat, constructed for Rs 9 crore, Sukhu said doctor availability in the state’s medical colleges stood at just 35 per cent four years ago.
Sukhu said his government has increased the figure to over 70 per cent and aims to raise it further to 80-85 per cent by next year.
Saying that infrastructure expansion was essential for development, He said the secretariat building had been expanded and offices would be relocated to the new premises.
Replying to questions by reporters, the chief minister said postgraduate (PG) medical seats across the state’s six government medical colleges had increased from 277 to 597, an addition of 320 seats.
The state government was focusing on strengthening government medical colleges, expanding opportunities for postgraduate medical education and improving access to specialised healthcare services, he said.
The increase in PG medical seats would provide young doctors more opportunities to pursue specialised medical education within the state and help improve the availability of trained specialists in government hospitals, Sukhu said.
The government was committed to providing specialised medical services closer to people’s homes. Apart from strengthening healthcare infrastructure, efforts were also to ensure the adoption of modern technology, he added.
Radio diagnosis services had been strengthened, and efforts were underway to reduce waiting periods for these services to zero, Sukhu said.
In response to another question, Sukhu said the state government had constituted a commission to examine the reorganisation of various administrative units to improve public convenience and administrative efficiency.
The commission would conduct a detailed study and submit its report to the government, following which appropriate decisions would be taken, he said.
(PTI News)
