Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday directed the Health and Family Welfare Department to formulate a Nutrition Policy by May 31 this year.
He was presiding over a meeting of senior officers of the Health Department in Shimla. He said there is a need to create widespread awareness among people in the state about the nutritional value of food to achieve the vision of a “Fit Himachal”. He said Himachal Pradesh is set to become the first state in the country to formulate such a comprehensive policy.
The Chief Minister said digitisation in the Health Department is very important. He directed officials to make patient records available online so that people can access faster and easier healthcare services. He said under this system, patients will not need to carry paper registration slips or medical test reports.
He asked the department to start a pilot project at Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital (IGMC) to digitise patient data in five departments, Pathology, Radiology, Mycology, Biochemistry and Pharmacy. He also assured adequate manpower support to implement the project. He said after successful implementation, the project will be expanded to all departments of IGMC and other medical colleges in the state.
Sukhu said the state government was committed to provide world-class healthcare facilities within the state and plans are underway to spend Rs 3,000 crore on high-end machines and equipment to strengthen the healthcare system. He said the government has also sanctioned Rs 75 crore for setting up automated labs in three medical colleges.
He added that efforts are being made to double the number of senior resident doctors in all medical colleges, as they play a crucial role in the effective functioning of these institutions.
Chairman of the State Food Commission S.P. Katyal, Secretary Ashish Singhmar, Special Secretaries Ashwani Kumar and Jitender Sanjta, and other senior Health Department officials were also present in the meeting.
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