Cancer patients in Punjab would get a New Year gift with the start of cashless scheme for providing them treatment in empanelled hospitals under Mukh Mantri Cancer Raahat Kosh.
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Monday gave his nod for starting the cashless scheme while presiding over a high level review meeting of the Health Department here.
Emphasising on the need for imparting quality treatment to the cancer patients in a hassle free manner, the Chief Minister said that with the launching of this scheme there would be no need for getting any prior sanction of the officers for getting cancer treatment and cancer patients could avail the best treatment facilities in the empanelled hospitals at affordable cost by simply moving in the hospitals.
Badal said that this scheme would prove to be a big boon for the cancer patients as under it the entire expenditure on his treatment would be borne by the state government.
During the meeting, the Chief Minister also approved the proposal of the Health department to conduct special screening for Diabetes/ hypertension of the persons above the age group of 30 years. Expressing concern over the rising cases of heart attacks and strokes, he said that it was the need of the hour to conduct such preventive screening across the state for saving many precious lives. Badal was apprised that this project of screening would be launched on pilot basis in four districts of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar (Nawanshehar), Mansa, Sri Muktsar Sahib and Tarn Taran in February 2014.
Badal also directed the Health department to establish Mother Child Centers in Medical Colleges and Hospitals of the state government to further decrease Infant Mortality Ratio (IMR) and Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR). He said that the Health department must lay special focus on saving lives of infants and mothers during deliveries by providing best medical treatment and facilities to them.
Those present in the meeting included Cabinet Minister Surjit Kumar Jiyaani, Chief Parliamentary Secretaries Navjot Kaur Sidhu and Mohinder Kaur Josh, Principal Secretary Health Vinni Mahajan, Health Advisor to the State Government Dr KK Talwar, amongst others.