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Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday inaugurated the Baba Baidyanath Medical Trust Hospital in Deoghar, Jharkhand, and said the town, known as a spiritual tourism hub, would gradually emerge as a centre of medical tourism as well.
The state-of-the-art 750-bed hospital has been established through a joint initiative of the Baba Baidyanath Medical Trust and P.D. Hinduja Hospital and Medical Research Centre. Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Sarma said a medical college would also be established at the site in the future and expressed hope that the hospital would provide advanced healthcare services, especially to people from economically weaker and middle-income sections. Referring to the development of Deoghar and Godda in Jharkhand, Sarma said the region now has an airport, AIIMS, railway connectivity and a ring road. He said the development achieved in the Godda parliamentary constituency under the leadership of MP Nishikant Dubey had set an example, adding that the inauguration of the hospital would further strengthen the region's healthcare infrastructure. Drawing from his experience as Assam's Health Minister for nearly 15 years since 2006, Sarma said the design and architecture of a hospital also play an important role in its success. Expressing satisfaction with the facilities at the newly inaugurated hospital, including its ICU, emergency unit and general wards, he said the hospital had been designed keeping the convenience of ordinary people in mind. Sarma said the objective behind establishing hospitals under the Baba Baidyanath Medical Trust was not profit-making but public service. He added that the Trust's collaboration with the Hinduja Group would help transform the hospital into an institution dedicated to public welfare. Highlighting the role of AIIMS Deoghar and the Baba Baidyanath Medical Trust Hospital, Sarma said both institutions would complement each other and strengthen healthcare services for people of Jharkhand and Bihar. People from Deoghar, Godda and other parts of Jharkhand earlier had to travel to Kolkata for quality medical treatment. However, a strong healthcare ecosystem is gradually being established in the state. People will now increasingly come to Deoghar for medical treatment, and the town, which is a major centre of spiritual tourism, will gradually emerge as a centre of medical tourism as well, Sarma added. Comparing the country's healthcare and medical education growth, the Assam Chief Minister said the number of medical colleges increased from 387 in 2014 to 846 during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tenure. He said the number of MBBS doctors produced annually in the country has increased from 51,384 before 2014 to 1,39,864 currently, while 22 AIIMS institutions have been established across the country. Speaking about Assam's medical education sector, Sarma said the state now has 16 medical colleges compared to three earlier and produces around 2,200 doctors annually, up from nearly 350 doctors earlier. He said the Assam government has a vision of establishing 32 more medical colleges in the state and increasing the number of MBBS seats to 4,000. Sarma also said that to provide employment opportunities to doctors, the latest State Budget has announced the deployment of two doctors at each of Assam's 5,000 sub-health centres. The event was attended by Godda MP Nishikant Dubey, Baba Baidyanath Medical Trust Chairperson Dr Anamika Gautam and other dignitaries. (ANI)
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