Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh along with Union Health Minister, Jagat Prakash Nadda on Monday dedicated the Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment (AMRIT) Pharmacy Shop in IGMC campus here to the people of the State.
The pharmacy shop will provide medicines at 70 to 90 percent subsidy to the patients. launch of this shop, is seen as a big relief, to patients who cannot afford costly medicines for treatment of cancer, cardiac and other diseases. This will also enable the patients to purchase medicines under one roof and they do not have to go shop to shop as no prescription will bounce at this pharmacy.
Singh and Nadda also laid the foundation stone of Super Specialty block of IGMC Complex to be constructed at Chamyana. This will be the 2nd campus of IGMC to be developed over 20 Hectares of land to cost nearly Rs 250 crore under 80:20 by Government of India and State Government. The expenses outside scope of Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Sewa Yojana (PMSSY) will be met by the Government of Himachal Pradesh.
The Chief Minister and Union Health Minister also laid the foundation stone of Tertiary Care Cancer Centre of IGMC. To provide world class facility to cancer patients the existing centre shall be now known as Tertiary Care Cancer Centre & run under “strengthening of tertiary cancer care centre” scheme.
The new cancer patients per year in the State are around 5,000 and 50 per cent of these are registered at IGMC Shimla. Around 100 patients get Radiotherapy every day. Besides, 50 patients get chemotherapy daily, as per the official spokesperson of IGMC.