Agartala: Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Saturday said there would be no shortage of funds for healthcare in the state and stressed on optimum utilisation of infrastructure and resources in the state's public healthcare system.
In his address on universal healthcare on World Health Day here, Deb said the public healthcare system in the state was in tatters, especially in the interior areas.
"I was pained to see the pathetic healthcare condition and infrastructure in the rural areas, especially in indigenous hamlets. We want to develop health service for all," he said.
The state government is contemplating boost to healthcare outreach through Anganwadi centres, he added.
"We have less primary health centres but we have many Anganwadi centres. We are contemplating developing these into multi-utility centres, which can provide education, nutrition, health check- ups and health camps operated out of primary health centres," Deb said.
"Health is service sector. We live in a country where Ayurvedic doctors can tell body temperature, ailments, even heart diseases, by testing the pulse. You do not need buildings for service," he said.
Deb urged National Health Mission (NHM) director Sailesh Kumar Jadav to furnish a detailed report of all services offered under the Centre-sponsored schemes to health minister Sudip Roy Barman.
"Union health minister J.P. Nadda has assured us to provide all the funds necessary under NHM to Tripura. We are committed to developing healthcare for all. There will be no dearth of funds," he said.
Roy Barman said many doctors from Tripura have settled elsewhere and have excelled in high-end treatment sectors like cardiology, neurology and nephrology. He urged them to return to the state and render their service to build a better healthcare environment.
"We have decided to arrest the flow of funds from Tripura to other parts of the country. We will offer best treatment in the state itself by hiring specialists, many of whom are from Tripura," Roy Barman said.