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Jharkhand Health Minister Dr Irfan Ansari on Friday criticised the central government for neglecting the state's needs amid shortages in medical colleges, doctors, paramedical staff, and nurses.
Speaking to ANI, Jharkhand Health Minister Dr Irfan Ansari said, "It is true that there is a shortage of medical colleges, doctors, paramedical staff and nurses in Jharkhand. The centre has completely neglected the state of Jharkhand. I have reached out to them and demanded funds from the centre. I see that there are a lot of lapses...You (the center) are giving money to those states which have a BJP government..." Further, he said, "The central government is giving money to BJP-ruled states but ignoring Jharkhand. This is a poor state, and we need the funds for our people. They are using the state's resources but neglect us when it comes to giving funds." Dr Ansari reassured the public that the state government was taking action to address the shortages. "We may not have enough money, but we will not let people die. We will create good resources with the limited funds we have. We are working on building our own hospitals to improve healthcare in Jharkhand," he said. He also revealed plans to open more nursing colleges to address the shortage of nurses in the state. "We are going to open nursing colleges to fulfill the shortage of nurses. We are also simplifying the documentation process to make it easier for others to open colleges in the education sector," he said. When asked about the Jharkhand government's spending during COVID-19, Ansari said, "The central government only provided half of the required funds." He defended the state's handling of the COVID-19 crisis, saying the priority at the time was to save lives. "When COVID-19 hit, the priority was saving lives. The former minister did a great job, and we saved lives. If we had focused on paperwork instead, many lives would have been lost," he added. Dr Ansari also discussed plans to expand medical education in Jharkhand to address the state's healthcare needs. "We are increasing the number of medical college seats, both for MBBS and PG courses. We are also focusing on increasing nursing staff in the state," he said. (ANI)
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