Centre will adopt UP’s health fair model: Mansukh Mandaviya

Lucknow, Jul 26 (PTI) Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday said that the Centre will emulate Uttar Pradesh model of health fairs across the country.

“A health fair is organised every week at every primary health and wellness centre in the state. Two and a half to three lakh poor people are treated at such fairs. We will implement this model in the whole country,” Mandaviya said at a press conference after a meeting with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and officials of the state health department.

“The UP government has created a digital platform for vaccination which is very good. It has prepared a portal to get information about the utilisation of operation theatres in all hospitals, we will implement that too at the national level,” the Union minister said.

He said that the UP government is the first among state governments to be using e-rupee in the health sector. “We will implement the e-Rupee scheme in the entire country so that beneficiaries directly get money.”

The minister also said though the COVID pandemic has ended in the country, there were still isolated cases and there was still a need to be cautious.

Asked about the possibility of absorbing scientists and technicians temporarily kept during the COVID pandemic and later removed, the minister said “If the government has to use them, they will be used.”

On the shortage of doctors in government hospitals, Mandaviya said seats in medical colleges have been increased but it will take five years before those under training join the workforce.

The minister said that according to the National Health Policy, by the year 2025, 2.5 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product has to be spent on health services, he said.

He said last year he met officials from some hospitals who suggested to him ways to better link health facilities with the Ayushman Bharat scheme and he has since worked on their suggestions.

“If we encourage and enlist good hospitals, then the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat scheme can be done efficiently,” he said.

At the same event, Adityanath said that before 2014, state governments used to rush to Delhi only to be ignored, unlike today, when Union ministers are going to the states asking how much funds they need for the implementation of schemes.

“The aim of all of us is to provide complete health facilities to the person standing on the last rung,” the CM said.