On Friday, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah presented the state Budget and said that the Arogya Karnataka Yojane, the state’s universal health coverage, will be implemented in 2018. He also said that medical infrastructure across the state will be upgraded.
The Arogya Karnataka Yojane aims to provide primary, specific secondary and tertiary treatment to all the people of the state.
This year’s budget also promises to upgrade the infrastructure at various medical colleges and hospitals.
Allocations for the same have been made by the Department of Health and Family Welfare, and Department of Medical Education.
Medical hospitals across the state, which see a huge footfall of patients, are set to receive additional beds from the government. The Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute is set to get additional ward comprising 1,000 beds.
Meanwhile, Rs 90 crore has been granted for the construction of hospitals in the medical colleges of Gadag, Koppal and Chamarajanagar district. Besides this, the construction of a new building at Nursing College, Mysuru, at a cost of Rs 30 crore will commence, announced Siddaramaiah.
A burns ward will also be set up at Kalaburagi Medical College using grants from the Hyderabad-Karnataka Development Region.
Facilities in nursing schools and colleges under the Medical Education Department will be upgraded at a cost of Rs 30 crore.
Cardiovascular and cancer treatment
A cardiovascular treatment facility at a cost of Rs 7.81 crore at Shimoga Super Speciality Hospital will be established, as will cardiovascular treatment units with cathlab facility in Bidar Medical Sciences Institute and Gadag Medical Sciences Institute, all of them at an estimated cost of Rs 15 crore each.
A cancer treatment unit at the cost of Rs 15 crore will be set up in Hassan, Mysuru and Karwar. A PET CT scan facility at the same cost will be established at Kidwai Cancer Institute, Bengaluru.
Primary health care
The state Budget also mentioned facilities that would treat non-communicable diseases and offer preventive healthcare.
“About 9,000 health and wellness centres will be set up by upgrading the existing sub-centres for every 5,000 people in rural areas during the next seven years for providing high-quality, comprehensive primary healthcare services. The focus is on reproductive and child health, and on the prevention of illness and promotion of wellbeing in the community. 571 centres will be established during 2018-19,” he added
The Budget also seeks to have specific diagnostic measures in place so as to ensure the early detection of diseases.
The chief minister also said, “We will certify all major district and taluk hospitals under NABH. We are also taking action to enhance public accountability to display the number of out-patients, in-patients and childbirths in the public domain daily.”
In a move towards enforcing the much-debated Karnataka Private Medical Establishments Act, Siddaramaiah announced the setting up of a “State Health Council”, which would submit recommendations to the state on health sector policies and programme options to the government, besides keeping an eye on the performance and effectiveness of public health institutions.
The council would also oversee the effective implementation of the Karnataka Private Medical Establishment Act.
Speaking about the achievements, he said that the number of beds have been increased by 2,900 in government hospitals. Rs 1,429 crore has been spent for the construction of 949 new buildings and for the renovation of 306 buildings.