Union Health Minister JP Nadda on Friday said it is important to draw on expertise and best practices of leading institutions while planning major healthcare infrastructure projects.
During a review of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences (ABVIMS) and RML Hospital here, he also stressed the need to prioritise the mental well-being of medical students and faculty members, highlighting the impact of stress on academic and professional life.
Calling for supportive interpersonal relationships, open communication and sustained mental health support, he encouraged the implementation of Project SARATHI at the institution.
Project SARATHI is a youth-led public healthcare initiative designed to improve patient navigation, streamline OPD services, and reduce non-clinical workloads for hospital staff.
Nadda called for stronger implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission at Dr RML Hospital, including wider adoption of e-prescriptions and other digital health services to improve patient care and service delivery.
During the review meeting, Nadda assessed the hospital’s progress in patient care, specialised services, service delivery and infrastructure development, the health ministry said in a statement.
A presentation at the meeting highlighted the hospital’s clinical services, medical education, research activities and quality improvement initiatives.
The hospital recorded 19.4 lakh outpatient visits, over 82,500 inpatient admissions and more than 96,600 surgeries and procedures in 2025, it stated.
The institution currently has 30 clinical and patient-care departments and eight pre-clinical and para-clinical departments.
Dr RML Hospital achieved full NABH (National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers) accreditation in 2025, becoming the first Central government-owned multi-speciality hospital to achieve the distinction.
The hospital has undertaken several quality improvement measures, including strengthening registration and triage processes, clinical and prescription audits, incident reporting, adverse drug reaction reporting and patient feedback mechanisms, the statement said.
To improve access to healthcare services, the hospital has expanded the number of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana kiosks from one to three. The number of PM-JAY pre-authorisation requests increased from 549 in 2022 to 1,516 in 2025.
The presentation also highlighted the institute’s academic and research contributions, including more than 2,200 research publications.