The Hindu Business Line : Assam to tie up with select tea gardens for medical facilities

Snapshot
Fifty tea gardens in the State would be roped in for the project in the first phase.
The project would be scaled up later with other gardens, too, extending their medical facilities to the general public in their respective regions.

Our Bureau

Kolkata, Aug. 30 The Assam Government wants hospitals maintained by private tea gardens in the State to be made accessible to non-employees and their families who live in the region.

The State Government will enter into memoranda of understanding in this regard with select tea gardens in the State.

This was stated by Dr J.B. Ekka, Mission Director, National Rural Health Mission and Additional Secretary, Government of Assam, at a seminar on “Healthcare North East: Towards Creating a Global Healthcare Hub” organised here today by the Confederation of Indian Industry (Eastern Region).

Dr Ekka said the initiative would be taken up under the National Rural Health Mission and 50 tea gardens in the State would be roped in for the project in the first phase. The project would be scaled up later with other gardens, too, extending their medical facilities to the general public in their respective regions.

Speaking on the occasion, Ms Sumedha Sen, Chief Executive Officer of Woodlands Hospital, Kolkata, spoke of the need to address issues such as the shortage of healthcare professionals in the North East and the low bed-to-people ratio.

People living in the North East prefer to travel to Kolkata and elsewhere for addressing their healthcare issues as they can avail themselves of better quality treatment at lower costs in these places, she said.

Dr Alexander Kuruvilla, President and CEO of Medicasynergie Pvt Ltd, said accessibility and affordability were the two major barriers for people in getting quality medical facilities.

While telemedicine could help overcome the former difficulty, health insurance or community insurance programmes can take care of the latter.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Ajay Kaul, Cardio Vascular Surgeon at B.M. Birla Heart Research Institute here, said the specialty heart care facility was open to offering consultation and expert opinion through telemedicine networking to hospitals and patients in the North East. Training in cardiac care for doctors and nurses would also be provided, he said.

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