The Chhattisgarh government has taken several initiatives to make health services more accessible, to improve quality of treatment facilities and to provide free treatment to people in need.
The Health Department has made healthcare easily accessible and free through schemes like Dr Khubchand Baghel Swasthy Sahayta Yojana, Chief Minister Special Health Aid Scheme, Chief Minister Haat Bazar Clinic Scheme and Chief Minister Slum Health Scheme.
Facilities and resources at Medical College, District and Civil Hospitals as well as Community Health, Primary Health and Sub Health Centres are continuously upgraded to provide quality medical treatment.
The Dr. Khubchand scheme was launched in January this year under which cashless treatment of up to Rs 5 lakh is provided to priority and Antyodaya ration card holder families. The scheme covers 56 lakh financially vulnerable families.
Beneficiaries can avail treatment under this scheme in all government and contracted private hospitals using a ration card and an ID. Other ration card holder families can get treatment up to Rs 50,000. About 65 lakh families in the state have been covered under the scheme.
Chief Minister Special Health Aid Scheme has been launched as an extension of Sanjeevani Sahayta Kosh for treatment of serious and rare diseases. Under this scheme, financial aid of up to Rs 20 lakh is sanctioned to treat critical diseases.
Chhattisgarh is the first and only state in the country to provide such a huge amount of financial aid to citizens for treatment.
Almost every citizen of the state is entitled to free treatment under Dr. Khubchand scheme and Chief Minister Special Health Aid Scheme.
In addition, Chief Minister's Haat-Bazar Clinic Scheme has been launched to provide free health checkup, medicines and treatment services. Likewise, Chief Minister Urban Slum Health Scheme provides similar services to the urban population.
As facilities of chemotherapy and dialysis has been started in district hospitals, patients no longer have to travel to other states for treatment of critical diseases.
The government is conducting Malaria Mukt Bastar Abhiyan to control IMR-MMR and to alleviate malaria, anemia and malnutrition from Bastar Division. This campaign has yielded successful results.
In addition, the Health Department is seriously implementing programmes related to public health and family welfare. In 2019-20, 585,000 children have been fully immunized for up to one year. During this period, 94 percent children of the state had access to vaccines.
Recruitment of 2,100 regular and 3,349 contractual officers and employees is under process in the Health Department.