New Delhi, Nov. 3 -- Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday said the government was expanding healthcare infrastructure across the national capital, with plans to increase medical seats, recruit healthcare professionals and strengthen digital health services. She also stressed the need for greater collaboration between public and private hospitals to develop Delhi as a major medical hub.

The Chief Minister was speaking after inaugurating a newly developed In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) Centre at Sant Parmanand Hospital.

"Public-private partnership is essential to making Delhi a better medical hub," Gupta said, adding that the government was working towards making quality and affordable healthcare accessible to residents, with greater emphasis on disease prevention.

Highlighting the expansion of medical education, she said MBBS seats in Delhi's medical colleges would be increased from 595 to 820, while postgraduate seats would go up from 553 to 762. A medical college is also being developed at Indira Gandhi Hospital in Dwarka at an estimated cost of Rs 805.99 crore. The government has appointed more than 1,200 nurses and 954 senior resident doctors, while over 4,000 additional posts have been approved to strengthen the healthcare workforce.

Gupta said 415 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs and 29 Jan Aushadhi Kendras had started functioning in Delhi. Five hospital infrastructure projects worth Rs 503.49 crore have also been undertaken. Additionally, 300 dialysis machines have been deployed across 16 government hospitals.

Under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, the Delhi government has added another Rs 5 lakh to the Centre's existing Rs 5 lakh health cover, taking the total coverage to Rs 10 lakh annually. More than 8.94 lakh Ayushman cards have been approved, while over 3.09 lakh senior citizens above 70 have been enrolled under Ayushman Vay Vandana.

On digital healthcare, the Chief Minister said more than one crore ABHA IDs had been generated and a Digital Health Management System introduced in 38 government hospitals. The government is also offering 56 free tests for newborns, 10,000 cancer screenings and HPV vaccination for girls aged nine to 14.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.