Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced on Sunday that a comprehensive plan has been devised to establish the nation’s finest health services in Maharashtra over the next four years. The initiative aims to ensure that primary healthcare facilities are accessible to every individual within a 3-kilometre radius, reported news agency PTI.
Speaking after inaugurating the Late Bhanutai Gadkari Memorial Diagnostic Centre in Nagpur, CM Fadnavis noted that while technological advancements are increasing treatment costs, they also underscore the critical need to provide more people with affordable and subsidised care through the government health system. He added that the Maharashtra government and the Centre are actively collaborating on this aspect.
“A study of health services has shown that the government has developed very good tertiary treatment facilities in Maharashtra, but we are lacking to some extent when it comes to primary health services. If we go by the ratio, then 60 per cent of funds should go to primary health services and 40 per cent to tertiary services,” he stated.
Furthermore, CM Fadnavis pointed out that strengthening primary health services significantly reduces the burden on tertiary services, as 60 to 70 per cent of patients can be treated for their ailments at the primary care level.
“The state government has prepared a plan to provide primary health services to every person within a 3-kilometre radius in urban and rural areas. We are developing a network of primary, secondary, and tertiary health services. With the help of externally aided agencies and the Union government, we will try to establish the best health services in the country in Maharashtra in the next four years,” Fadnavis asserted.
Additionally, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari addressed the event at the diagnostic centre, which is named in honour of his mother.
Union Minister Gadkari emphasised that all his life’s achievements and accomplishments are a result of his mother’s blessings and teachings, PTI reported.
He further informed the gathering that his mother always instilled in him the importance of serving the poor.
Minister Gadkari also stressed that this diagnostic centre will greatly benefit the needy and the poor, as its services will be available at very affordable prices.
“Through such social initiatives, I learnt that the meaning of politics is not just power politics. I always tell my colleagues that politics is an instrument for social and economic reforms in society,” he concluded.
(with PTI inputs)