RAJ LEADS THE WAY IN MEDICAL EXCELLENCE!

Remarkable work has been done in the field of medical and health facilities in Rajasthan, in the last four and a half years, and especially after the Covid pandemic, the government is doing more in this direction and giving more attention to this special field. It is also true that the efforts made by the Rajasthan government, to deal with the global pandemic like Corona, were appreciated all over the world, especially the “Bhilwara Model” became famous globally.

It is also a well known fact that the Chief Minister himself, at the level of Rajasthan, conducted video conferences almost every day. Virtual meetings were held in which the district administration, the Medical and Health Departments, NGOs and all other sections of the society were approached and connected.

By connecting through VCs, an effective action plan was made to deal with this epidemic and the result was that the death rate due to Corona was lowest in Rajasthan. Moreover, the vaccination work was also done very effectively and efficiently in Rajasthan.

After the difficult or troublesome circumstances of the Corona period, the state government took several important steps regarding modernization and expansion in the health facilities sector, but in time even those steps proved insufficient.

When we talk about the medical and health department of the state, it is discussed in the entire country and “Mukhyamantri Chiranjeevi Swasthya Bima Yojana” and “Mukhyamantri Chiranjeevi Durghatna Bima Yojana” remain the most talked about schemes. Under the Chiranjeevi Swasthya Bima Yojana Health Insurance Scheme, there is a facility to get cashless treatment up to Rs 25 lakh, and in case of death, Rs 25 lakh as insurance amount.

The benefits of this scheme are free for the destitute and helpless families receiving ex-gratia amount, families eligible under the Food Security Act, Eligible families of Socio Economic Census-2011, State Government Departments/Boards/Corporations/Contract workers, small marginal farmers working in government companies and under the Corona epidemic, while for other categories this benefit is available at a premium of only Rs 850 per year. Chiranjeevi Yojana is actually the pinnacle of medical and health services at this time.

If we look at the current functioning schemes of the medical and health department, they are as follows:-

• Chief Minister Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme
• Chief Minister Chiranjeevi Accident Insurance Scheme
• Chief Minister Free Testing Scheme
• Chief Minister Free Medicine Scheme
• Chief Minister Free Nirogi Rajasthan Scheme
• Chief Minister e-Sanjeevani Tele Medicine Scheme (Operated from 100 locations)
• Chief Minister Desi Ghee Scheme
• National Leprosy Eradication Program
• 108 Ambulance Scheme
• Chief Minister New Medical College (in every district)
• Chief Minister New Nursing College (in every district)
• Mobile Medical Unit (295 vehicles, 75 medicines, arrangements for 6 tests, unit with doctor)

Apart from this, the Right to Health Bill passed by the Government of Rajasthan, in which the responsibility of private sector hospitals has also been fixed, is also another unique achievement.

If we talk about the current situation today, regarding operation of the above schemes and new schemes of the Medical and Health Department, then even after the announcements, there is availability of only 0.5 doctors per 1000 persons whereas according to the World Health Organization (WHO), there should be 6 doctors per 1000 population. Similarly, twothirds of the population of Rajasthan lives in rural areas while only one-third of the population lives in urban areas but if we talk about availability of medical facilities, 75 percent medical facilities are available in urban areas whereas only 25 percent are available in rural areas.

Today every fifth person in Rajasthan has diabetes, 35 percent population has blood pressure problems and about 15-20 percent people have heart disease problems. The number of cancer patients is also increasing at a rapid pace every year. It is true that at the time of independence, our average age was 48 years, which has now increased to 70 years, but increase in diseases with increase in is not a good sign. If our average age is increasing then it should also be disease free.

In this background, the Mission-2030 that is being talked about by the Rajasthan Government. The main objective is that by the year 2030, Rajasthan will be fully developed in the field of medicine and health. The state will become self-reliant and every person of the state gets all kinds of best and modern medical services so that our average age which has increased to 70 years, can be disease free.

Pawan Arora The writer is CEO and Managing Editor at First India and First India News