Rajasthan govt moving fast in the direction of 'Right to Health': Gehlot

The Rajasthan government is moving fast in the direction of 'Right to Health', Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said on Monday, as he directed the concerned officials to give final shape to it at the earliest.

In January this year, the Rajasthan government had prepared a draft bill of the country's first Right to Health law that defines the rights of patients, their attendants and healthcare providers, and provides for a mechanism to address the grievances of the stakeholders.

All necessary provisions should be included in the interest of the patients in this bill, Gehlot said at a review meeting of the health department held at his official residence in Jaipur.

Gehlot also directed to make the 'Mukhyamantri Nishulk Nirogi Rajasthan Yojana' (Chief Minister's Free Healthy Rajasthan Scheme) successful at the ground level.

This scheme was started on April 1 with an objective to make the people of the state free from the tension of the expenses incurred due to high treatment costs.

"Our government has started an innovative scheme to provide free treatment and testing services in OPDs and IPDs to the people of the state," Gehlot said.

Health department officials, doctors and the nursing community should get ready to make this scheme successful with the spirit of service and ensure that the patients do not face any kind of problems in getting free treatment, the Chief Minister said.

"Health is the top priority of the state government. This is the reason the government started ambitious schemes such as the Mukhyamantri Chiranjeevi Swasthya Bima Yojana and the Mukhyamantri Nishulk Nirogi Rajasthan Yojana. We want Rajasthan to become a leading state in providing healthcare services," Gehlot said.

The state government would ensure that these schemes are executed with full commitment at the ground level," he added.

The Chief Minister added that regular monitoring would be done at all levels to make the scheme a success.