Efforts being made to remove regional imbalance: Lt Governor

Jammu, Jan 18: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha handed over an ex-gratia cheque of Rs 10 lakhs to NoKs of each deceased National Health Mission employee.
The Lt Governor expressed his deepest gratitude to the families and healthcare workers of National Health Mission for their dedication and commitment to serve the people.
Paying homage to the deceased employees of NHM, the Lt Governor said that financial aid cannot compensate for their selfless service and sacrifice; however, it is our duty and responsibility to ensure their family members live a life of respect and dignity.
The spirit of selfless service, sacrifice and compassion with which our health workers, doctors, para-medics have served the people during Covid pandemic and vaccination drive is truly inspirational, he observed.
Speaking on the reforms introduced to strengthen the healthcare system, the Lt Governor said, under the guidance of Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, J&K’s health sector has gone through a sea change ensuring high-quality affordable, accessible healthcare for all.
Continuous efforts are being made to remove the regional imbalance which existed earlier in the field of health care. J&K is performing better than the national average on several parameters. The health indicators exemplify our efforts to ensure well being of the common citizens, he added.
“In our journey to achieve Quality & Accessible Healthcare, we have taken special care to make our health services effective, people-centered and equitable”, observed the Lt Governor.
Improved health infrastructure, expansive network of health & wellness centres, substantial increase in MBBS seats, universal health coverage, ambulance services, mobile clinics, besides decentralization of medical facilities have ensured expansion of health services in remote & far-flung areas, he added.
Several reforms were undertaken to implement the system of ‘Any Treatment, Anywhere, Anytime’. The ‘e-SAHAJ’ initiative entails online appointments from doctors, and digitization of patient’s medical records. As many as 575 health facilities are covered under this initiative, the Lt Governor said.
J&K administration is spending Rs 2 crore everyday on the treatment of common people and 97% of our population has insurance cover. SEHAT Golden cards have been provided to 80 lakh citizens, with 28,000 hospitals extending treatment facilities to them across the country. Today, dialysis facilities have been made available in all the districts. Geriatric and Pediatric wards have been established in all district hospitals, he further added.
Bhupinder Kumar, Administrative Secretary, Health and Medical Education informed that J&K Contributory Corpus Funds was started by J&K Government under the directions of the Lt Governor. The NHM employees are provided financial assistance on account of disability or death, he added.
A total of 34 families of deceased NHM employees were provided an ex-gratia of Rs 10 Lakh each, it was informed.
Sanjeev Gadkar, Mission Director, National Health Mission, J&K assured every possible support of the department for the welfare of families of the deceased employees.
Senior officers and officials of National Health Mission and family members of deceased employees were present on the occasion at Raj Bhawan.