Union Cabinet approves setting up of new AIIMS in Bhatinda

The Union Cabinet has approved the establishment of a new AIIMS at Bhatind, Punjab under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY).
The medical institution will have a hospital with capacity of 750 beds which will include Emergency Beds, Private Beds, ICU Speciality & Super Speciality beds and AYUSH beds.
Key Facts

• The new AIIMS at Bhatinda will provide super specialty health care to the population while creating a large pool of doctors and other health workers in this region.
• This large pool of health workers will be made available for primary and secondary level institutions and facilities being created under National Health Mission (NHM).
• Besides, the institute will also conduct research on prevalent regional diseases and other health issues and provide for better control and cure of such diseases.

So far under the PMSSY, AIIMS have been established in Bhubaneshwar, Raipur, Jodhpur, Bhopal, Rishikesh, and Patna while work of AIIMS Rae Bareli is in progress.
Besides, 3 new AIIMS in Nagpur (Maharashtra),  Mangalagiri in Guntur (Andhra Pradesh) and Kalyani (West Bengal)  were also have been sanctioned in 2015.
Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY): It is a Central Sector Scheme announced in August 2003. The primary objective of the scheme is to correct the regional imbalances in availability of affordable and reliable tertiary level healthcare in the country.  Besides, it also seeks to augment facilities for quality medical education in under-served or backward States.

Month: Current Affairs - July, 2016