Centre to launch two mobile hospitals

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday said the recently launched PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission, with an outlay of more than ₹64,000 crore, is aimed at filling critical gaps in public health infrastructure, especially in critical care and primary care facilities in both urban and rural areas. Highlighting some of the key features of PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission, Dr. Mandaviya said that 134 different types of tests will be done for free at the district level. Stating that the pandemic showed the country the importance of ensuring regular medical services, the Minister said that development of critical care hospital blocks in 602 districts as proposed under the scheme, shall make the districts self-sufficient, to a large extent, in providing comprehensive treatment for infectious diseases without disruption to other essential health services and also augment the critical care capacities in the public health facilities. “The Mission aims to produce robust outcomes in public health, leapfrogging India to one of the most advanced countries in the world in terms of management of public health outbreaks,” said the Minister, adding that the components, such as setting up of the National Platform for One Health, setting up a Division for Research on Disease Elimination Sciences and Health as a satellite centre of National Aids Research Institute, setting up of the Regional National Institutes of Virology, strengthening of existing national research institutions, the NCDC and existing laboratory infrastructure, upgradation of labs and creation of additional BSL-3 facilities under the ICMR and the NCDC, will further strengthen the country’s capacity to detect and diagnose new infections.