The much ignored, medical facilities and doctors starved rural healthcare centres across the country called PHCs (public health centres) will now be converted into wellness centres.
Under the National Health Programme, nearly 1,50,000 PHCs, sub-centres in rural India, will run through an incredible transformation. The programme requires financial assistance so that timely payments can be made and it becomes effective, said Jagat Prakash Nadda, Union Health & Family Welfare Minister.
The Ministry is now reaching out to private sector participation in the programme too. The main aim is to screen everyone the age of 30 for major treatments like BP, diabetes, mental health, geriatric problems, oral cancer, cervix cancer, breast cancer and eye screening, Nadda said, while speaking at the LV Prasad Eye Institute here recently.
Appreciating the work done by the GPR I Care (community eye arm) of LVPEI, which has successfully completed 20 years, the Minister said the model could be replicated in delivering eye care services. Since 80% of eye problems are curable according to doctors, a smart plan will yield results, he added in a statement.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadi Yojana (PMJAY) in 29 States to assist as many as 10.74 crore families and 55 crore people. The citizens will be provided a golden card through which they can obtain Rs 5 lakh worth of tertiary care per family per annum.
This is the world’s largest universal healthcare programme and will also bring a massive change in the healthcare scenario of India. As many as 1,350 high-end surgical procedures are included in it. The Government of India (GOI) is also very much optimistic to work with institutions like LVPEI, Nadda said in a statement.
Gullapalli Pratibha Rao International Centre for Advancement of Rural Eye Care (GPRICARE) is a World Health Organisation (WHO) Collaborating Centre for the Prevention of Blindness, GN Rao, Chairman of LVPEI said in a statement.
Chief Guest ESL Narasimhan, Governor of Telangana State & Andhra Pradesh, suggested the incorporation of services with institutional deliveries being managed by Government hospitals, so that each and every new born is screened and the issue is identified sorted out at that stage itself.
“For that you should do screening at PHCs,” he said.
Bob MacMillan who is the President of International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness had some interesting words in store for eye care. “For eliminating avoidable blindness in Australia, we were referred to LVPEI’s pyramid model of eye care. The passion to eye care by LVPEI is reflecting in the work it is doing. They are an inspiration to many more,” he said.