Govt outlines major healthcare overhaul

Srinagar, Apr 5: The government has revealed an ambitious and multi-pronged plan to transform healthcare delivery system with high-end facilities like robotic surgery units, new cardiac cath labs, PET-CT scanners, AI-enabled diagnostics, and expanded critical care infrastructure to be rolled out in the coming years.

The Health and Medical Education Department explicitly acknowledged gaps in infrastructure and staff in the department, at various levels and facilities and the government asserted that it “has formulated a comprehensive plan to strengthen the health sector since it assumed power.”

Detailing the contours of this plan, the government said it plans to carry expansion and upgradation of hospital infrastructure across districts, expand infrastructure in new medical colleges and nursing institutions, accelerate recruitment drives, and hire contractual professionals under NHM and on academic arrangement basis to bridge immediate gaps.

The government admitted that “shortage of medical and paramedical staff continues.”

It said that a “comprehensive review of the infrastructure status across all Government Medical Colleges (GMCs) and their associated hospitals” had been carried out.

The government said that many institutions meet current requirements, “certain newly established medical colleges continue to face infrastructure deficiencies, particularly in areas such as hostel accommodation, laboratories, diagnostic facilities, and specialized equipment.”

The H&ME Department spelt out a detailed roadmap to “boost and strengthen the healthcare delivery system.”

These include robotic surgery facilities at GMC Srinagar and GMC Jammu “to enhance tertiary care precision and outcomes.”

In addition, dental units in all Government Medical Colleges are to be established in a phased manner over three years.

It said that two new cath labs at GMC Baramulla and GMC Doda “to strengthen cardiac care in underserved regions” are also in pipeline.

Moreover, PET-Scan facilities will be extended to all remaining GMCs in 2026-27 “to boost cancer diagnostics.”

For peripheries, dialysis services would be expanded to all remaining Sub-District Hospitals (SDHs) and Community Health Centres (CHCs) in 2026-27.

The government said 50 AI-enabled X-ray machines would be deployed in district and sub-district hospitals with a provision of Rs 10 crore “for improved diagnostic efficiency.”

It said that to make the healthcare delivery smoother, restoration of lifts, oxygen plants, toilets and ramps “to upgrade hospital infrastructure and patient safety” would be carried out.

The Health and Medical Education Department has planned 13 critical care blocks, 111 block public health units, and 10 district public health laboratories, to be completed and handed over during the year under PM-ABHIM.

The government said that cancer prevalence research would also be carried out in horticulture-intensive areas.