Health professionals like PGI doctors have to be partners in the concept of universal health coverage to change the big picture”, said Prof K Srinath Reddy, President, Public Health Foundation of India while recommending changes in health care structure of the country during his lecture on India’s Health System Reforms.
Addressing the PGI fraternity on the occasion of Institute Foundation Day, Reddy emphasised on the need for universal health coverage in the country where along with increased range of health facilities, adequate financial coverage is also given to a citizen.
Universality in the coverage was important, he said, where the rich and the poor would both be included to have a large financial pool. Along with this, there was a need to strengthen our health force comprising not only doctors but also allied health professionals.
Earlier Prof Yogesh Chawla, Director PGIMER introduced the Chief Guest and informed the audience about the latest developments in the Institute. Regarding the infrastructure he said, “The Institute procured several hi-tech equipment for enhancing patient care in the last couple of years.”
These include the state-of-the-art da Vinci Si HD system for Robot assisted laparoscopic operations; Offering minimally invasive treatment for kidney, urinary bladder and prostate cancers. The robotic surgery facility has been extended to ENT and gynecological surgeries as well.
A high-precision linear accelerator Trilogy has been recently introduced in the Institute, providing Image Guided Radio Therapy (IGRT) and Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) to patients with cancer. This facilitates radiation treatment of cancer patients with utmost accuracy and very little chance of late side effects of radiation. The Radiotherapy Department is recently designated as a center for Integrated Oncology and Palliative care for the period 2016-2018, by European Society for Medical Oncology.
“The Institute has set up a children friendly MRI facility with (kitten MRI) which is the first of its kind in the country and enables orientation of infants and young children with ambience environment, before the actual MRI. The Institute has also acquired Cone Beam Computed Tomography, for 3 dimensional imaging of head and neck region, with one-tenth the radiation dose, and half the cost of conventional CT”, Chawla added.
On the future programmes, Chawla said, “In our campus, soon a Neurosciences centre, Mother and New-born care centre and a new Modular Operation Theatre complex is coming up. We recently got 50 acres of land for PGI at Sarangpur area close to our campus. This will help us to develop, 1000 bedded emergency and trauma center, Geriatric, sports medicine and chronic rehabilitation Centres, National Transplant Centre and Regenerative medicine center, faculty and staff houses, hostels and many others in the new land”.