Arunachal : CM Pema Khandu gives new benchmark to measure progress of health sector

Chief Minister Pema Khandu on January 13 gave a new benchmark to measure the progress of health sector in the state. 
He said, “Increase in number of doctors or state of the art health infrastructure, actually, shouldn’t be the basis to measure the status of our health sector. Instead we must measure our health sector progress on the number of patients going out of the state for treatment. The lesser this number goes, the better we have achieved in health sector.”

Speaking at the 2-day 11th Annual Conference of the Arunachal Pradesh Doctors Association (APDA) , Khandu said that the day nobody from the state goes out for treatment, would be the day when the state health sector would have achieved its objective. 
“Modern infrastructure and equipment and increase in number of specialists and paramedics would mean nothing if our people continue to prefer hospitals and doctors outside the state for all kinds of treatment,” he pointed.
Khandu, however, admitted that its easier said than done.

“This cannot be achieved overnight. But this should be our vision, our target when we plan for a better and holistic health sector in the state,” he said.

The Chief Minister also raised another important aspect of health. He said that people are ignorant of the importance of a proper ‘mental health’ and requested the medical fraternity to spread awareness on it.

“Mental health is as important as physical health. With the fast track and cut throat competition in today’s world in addition to various complicacies of life, people, without knowing, get mentally sick. This is today a major health concern,” he said.
He viewed that if a person is mentally healthy, he or she would also be physically healthy and urged the health professionals to focus on this aspect too while chalking out future roadmaps for better health facilities.

Khandu expressed gratitude to the doctors and other health workers for their dedicated services during the COVID pandemic that saw the state successfully emerge from it.

“Huge increment in the number of institutional deliveries, sharp downfall in infant mortality rate, hundred percent vaccination drives of all categories, etc could be achieved only through your dedication and sincerity to duty,” he said.

Khandu also commended the outgoing executive of the APDA for the novel initiative of instituting two awards – Vishist Swastha Seva Puruskar for outstanding doctors and Swastha Seva Puruskar for paramedics.

He requested the incoming executive members of the Association to make the award conferment an annual event so that every year few outstanding doctors and paramedics are awarded. He said that this would be a great morale booster for the medical professionals.The maiden awards were presented by the Chief Minister to Dr Tamar Pallang, Asst Prof, Chest Medicine, TRIHMS (Vishist Swastha Seva Puruskar) and to Miss Hano Yakang, Nursing Officer, PHC Deed Neelam, Lower Subansiri, Miss Mary Tamat, ANM, Health & Wellness Centre, Supliang, Anjaw and Shri Kochada Appal Swamy, Sanitary Assistant, DHS, Naharlagun (Swastha Seva Puruskar).

The program was also attended by Itanagar legislator Techi Kaso and the state Health Commissioner.
Government and private doctors from across the state including several senior and retired doctors are attending the two-day conference being held at the State Banquet Hall at Niti Vihar here.