Health Secretary Pradip Kumar Mohapatra on Tuesday said the State Government has sanctioned recruitment of over one lakh paramedical workers which is the highest ever in the State.
He said the foundation of the proposed medical college in Sundargarh by the NTPC would be laid in a few days and the one by the MCl is also nearing that stage. In addition to the eight medical colleges already operational in the State, another seven are in the pipeline, including three in the PPP mode.
Speaking at the Healthcare Conclave organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) here, Mohapatra said the graduates of the Government medical colleges would be expected to sign a bond to serve in rural areas for at least three years. The 102 Ambulance service for maternity cases only would be rolled out soon, he further informed.
Mohapatra urged the organisers of the conclave to help the State secure investment in pharma industries. An Odisha Medical Services Corporation has been formed to address the issues of management in this sector and IT is going to be increasingly used to provide efficient service, he said.
Health Minister Damodar Rout lamented that the poor attitude towards serving people, which is widely displayed by the professionals being churned out by the healthcare education institutes like medical colleges and nursing institutes is aggravating the adverse impact of the shortage in trained manpower in the healthcare sector.
Mission Director of National Rural Health Mission Roopa Mishra gave an overall view of the healthcare sector in the State. She said the focus now is getting broadened to include non-communicable diseases and bring the adolescents into focus too. She cited the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram as a step in this direction. The Government is now emphasising multi-skilling as an option to manage manpower shortage, she said. Mishra also informed that a drug policy of the State is on the anvil that would help the MSME units and bring the alternative medicine system back into the mainstream.
KIIT Vice-Chancellor Prof PP Mathur spoke about the ability of the healthcare education to create large-scale employment. ICC Director General Dr Rajeev Singh gave the welcome address and Executive Member JB Pany delivered the vote of thanks.