Patna: Road accident trauma victims from below poverty line families can avail benefits up to Rs 1 lakh from the health department on providing prescriptions and hospital bills within 10 days of hospitalisation.
Health minister Mangal Pandey on Saturday announced that the department's proposal was recently approved by the cabinet. The scheme will cover treatments done at government and private hospitals.
Pandey was speaking during a programme at the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) on World Health Day. PMCH and the state chapter of World Health Organization held the programme.
He said bringing down the state's total fertility rate (average number of children born per thousand women) from current 3.3 to less than 2 is one of the targets for his department.
"Bihar cannot be developed until and unless its total fertility rate is brought down. Developed states' total fertility rate ranges from 1.7 to 2.2. Our neighbouring state Bengal has a 2.1 total fertility rate. So we also have to take inclusive measures to bring down the total fertility rate. In the last 12 years, it has decreased from 4.3 to 3.3; we should set a target of further bringing it down to less than 2 in next decade," said Pandey.
He also said the health department would achieve 90 per cent of its immunisation target by the end of this year.
Among the other announcements, Pandey said free dialysis facility would be made available for poor patients in government hospitals soon. "Dialysis units are being run on public-private partnership in government facilities now. Soon, free dialysis would be provided to poor patients in government hospitals, especially those who entitled to it according to the Union government's socio-economic survey," said Pandey.
Medical students from AIIMS-Patna and PMCH who participated in the inter-college roundtable earlier this week were also felicitated at the programme on Saturday.
World Health Organization expert Chandrakant Laharia spoke on the World Health Day theme this year - universal health coverage.
AIIMS-Patna's department of community and family medicine also celebrated World Health Day on Saturday. Director Dr P.K. Singh inaugurated the programme during which head of department, community and family medicine, Neeraj Agarwal, Dr Shamshad Ahmad and Dr Kritika Singh delivered lectures.
