Himachal Pradesh Government is making efforts to increase the number of specialised doctors in far-flung areas, said Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on Friday.

The Chief Minister said the State is endeavouring to increase the number of postgraduate seats in the Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital (IGMCH) in Shimla and Dr Rajendra Prasad Medical College in Tanda of Kangra district to overcome the shortage of doctors.

Presiding over the 27th national conference of the All India Rhinology Society, he stressed on the need for dedicated medical services for the benefit of the poor, the deserving and the less privileged section of society.

“The Government is determined to provide the best medical care to the people, besides the best consultancy services.” He said during the past one-and-a-half years, the State Government put in efforts to upgrade the Government medical colleges and hospitals associated with the abovementioned hospitals. Virbhadra said the Kamla Nehru Hospital in Shimla was being upgraded as full-fledged mother and child hospital. To decongest the IGMCH, another campus of this hospital would be constructed in Ghanahati near Shimla.

“The State has vast and improvised health infrastructure which is even better than national average and the health indicators of the State are one of the best in the country,” Virbhadra Singh added. The Chief Minister also released a souvenir and directory of the All India Rhinology Society and Clinical Rhinology Journal on the occasion.