Bhubaneswar: The state government’s Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY), which aims at universal healthcare coverage in Odisha, was highly appreciated in the national universal health care conference held at Gandhi Nagar in Gujarat recently.
The conference, titled ‘6th National Summit on Good and Replicable Practices and Innovations in Public Healthcare System in India’, was held with the participation of several states. This event is organised by the health ministry every year to recognise, discuss and award the best practices in universal health care practices in the state.
In the latest meet, Odisha’s journey towards Universal Health Coverage through BSKY (Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana) was said to be highly appreciated in the national summit held at Gandhinagar from November 16 to November 18. State Mission Director of the National Health Mission Salini Pandit gave detailed presentation on BSKY and patient satisfaction monitoring through ‘Mo Sarkar’.
According to the organisers more than 300 participants participated in the summit. At the summit, 37 good practices were also presented and 73 emerging good practices were showcased in the form of poster presentations.
Pandit, during her presentation before the representatives of different states, boasted about the benefits the BSKY offers to the people. During the event she said, “Towards achieving universal health care coverage, Odisha introduced several reforms for making health care accessible, affordable and equitable while assuring quality.”
The NHM MD talked about initiatives like bike ambulances, boat ambulances to serve the areas which do not have much access to healthcare facilities. She also talked about incentives offered to doctors in medical colleges to retain their services in addition to the empanelment of several private doctors to serve the people at large. The mission director also talked about how the BSKY is offering healthcare at affordable rates to the people of the state.
She said, “In the state, free healthcare services are provided for the citizens at public health facilities up to Medical Colleges under the BSKY. All user fees are waived off. Hot cooked meals are available for patient attendants at AAHAR Centres. There is strategic purchasing of services in PPP mode for critical care services and high-end diagnostic services.”