Bhubaneswar: Poor children from the state can avail free cardiac care at Ahmedabad-based Satya Sai Heart Hospital for another two years.
The state government has signed an MoU with Prasanti Medical Services and Research Foundation for extension of the services for next two years.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Supreme Court judge Vineet Saran, Orissa High Court Chief Justice Mohammad Rafiq, ex-chief justice Kalpesh Jhaveri and Health Minister Naba Das were present on the occasion.
The state government had roped in the hospital November 18, 2018 for providing free cardiac treatment to the children of Odisha with heart ailments. As per the agreement, the state government identifies and bears the transportation cost of ailing children.
All the services are provided free of cost. Till now, 1,019 children have undergone cardiac surgery and cured of their heart ailments. The next batch of children with cardiac ailments will be sent for treatment soon after a brief pause due to the Covid situation.
Speaking on the occasion, Naveen said, “My government is committed to make all efforts for fulfilling the healthcare needs of our people, especially the under-privileged and the under-served, in an equitable, accessible, affordable, transparent and time-bound manner.”
One such remarkable step in this direction has been to ensure that the poor people of Odisha get free cardiac treatment and are given a new lease of life, he said.
The state government is renewing the MoU to ensure that the poor of Odisha continue to receive this critical health service, he added.
Supreme Court Judge Justice Vineet Saran described Odisha as his second home. It’s his privilege to work anything for the state, he added. It may be mentioned here, it was Justice Vineet Saran who introduced the PMSRF to Odisha.
High Court Chief Justice Mohammad Rafiq appreciated the selfless, charitable commitment of the state government and the Satya Sai Heart Hospital. He said that there is no higher religion than service to humanity. Justice KS Jhaveri said that Odisha is very close to his heart and wished health and wealth for the people of the state.
All pre and post-operative care of patients at the hospital, including medicines, stents, coils, etc are borne by the Foundation. The transport assistance is provided by the state government to the patients along with escorts referred to PMSRF, as per their eligibility under different schemes implemented in the state.