Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday directed officers to expedite the procurement and installation of medical equipment and machinery worth around Rs 300 crore for various health institutions across the State.
While presiding over a meeting of the Himachal Pradesh Medical Services Corporation Limited (HPSMCL) here, he said the procurement process should be completed in a time-bound and transparent manner so that the benefits of advanced medical facilities reach people at the earliest. He directed that automated laboratory systems be established in medical colleges by the end of this year to strengthen diagnostic services.
Sukhu said tenders had been floated for several major medical equipment and infrastructure projects, including a Rs 75 crore track-based integrated total lab automation system for medical colleges, Rs 50 crore for PET scan machines at Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Government Medical College, Ner Chowk, and Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College, Tanda, and Rs 2 crore for high-end echocardiography machines at AIMSS, Chamiana.
Similarly, tenders have been floated for 13 full digital radiography machines, mammography and other equipment at Pt Jawahar Lal Nehru Government Medical College, Chamba; a Rs 3 crore blood component separator unit at Dr Radhakrishnan Government Medical College, Hamirpur; Rs 5 crore for 4K laparoscopic surgery sets and electrosurgical stations at IGMC, Shimla; ECG machines worth Rs 36 lakh; equipment worth Rs 13 crore for Block Public Health Units; machinery and equipment worth Rs 15 crore under Adarsh Swasthya Sansthans; Rs 100 crore for medicines and drugs for various health institutions; and Rs 30 crore for medical consumables and surgical items.
The Chief Minister said that under the second phase, tenders worth around Rs 83 crore would be floated for the procurement of additional medical equipment and machinery. These would include Rs 1.60 crore for the procurement and installation of mannequins for establishing a skill lab at Chamba Medical College, Rs 30 crore for Biplane DSA machines at AIMSS, Chamiana, and Tanda Medical College, and Rs 10 crore for establishing Bone Marrow Transplant and Apheresis Units at AIMSS, Chamiana, Mandi Medical College, IGMC Shimla, Tanda Medical College and Hamirpur Medical College.
In addition, Rs 3 crore would be spent on machinery and equipment for robotic surgery and the establishment of a gynaecology unit under the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Kamla Nehru Hospital/IGMC, Shimla. Another Rs 3 crore would be allocated for anaesthetic equipment for robotic surgery at IGMC, Shimla, while Rs 3 crore would be spent on machinery and equipment for the departments of Radiology and Orthopaedic Surgery at IGMC, he added.
Sukhu said the second phase would also include Rs 1 crore for the procurement of a cholangioscope and electro-hydraulic lithotripsy system for the Department of Gastroenterology at AIMSS, Chamiana; Rs 1.33 crore for machinery and equipment at Chamba Medical College; Rs 20 crore for 256-slice CT scan machines for five institutions under the Directorate of Medical Education and Research; Rs 6 crore for 4D colour Doppler ultrasound machines for eight institutions; and Rs 3.75 crore for high-end digital X-ray machines for five institutions under the Directorate of Medical Education and Research.
The Chief Minister directed officers to closely monitor the procurement process and ensure that all procedures were completed without unnecessary delays. He emphasised that procurement must remain transparent, competitive and strictly time-bound. He said strengthening the health sector remains one of the top priorities of the state government. He stressed the need to equip medical colleges, district hospitals, civil hospitals, community health centres and other health institutions with modern diagnostic and treatment facilities, enabling people to access quality healthcare closer to their homes.
He said the state government was committed to providing accessible, affordable and quality healthcare services to the people of Himachal Pradesh.
Modernisation of health infrastructure and the availability of advanced medical facilities in government institutions would not only improve the quality of treatment but also reduce the need for patients to travel outside their districts or the State for specialised healthcare.
Chief Secretary K.K. Pant, Principal Secretaries Devesh Kumar and M. Sudha Devi, Secretary Ashish Singhmar, Director of Health Services Dr Gopal Berry and other senior officers were present at the meeting.
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