Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, June 4: Promising to accord health sector Government’s highest priority, Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, today said the delivery system across the State will be upgraded in terms of manpower and equipment so that institutes like Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) primarily focus on advancement of research and betterment of healthcare.
He urged upon world-renowned doctors from the State, who are practising abroad, to return and provide succour to the people who have gone through very difficult times.
The Chief Minister said this while inaugurating the four-day ‘Asian Consensus Meeting on Metabolic Surgery-2015’, at Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), here today.
Renowned surgeons from 30 countries including US, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Australia, Brazil, Middle East, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will deliberate and evaluate controversies in bariatric surgeries during the conference, which has been organized by SKIMS, in collaboration with Centre for Obesity and Diabetes Surgery (CODS), Mumbai.
Minister of State for Health & Social Welfare, Asiya Naqash, Director SKIMS, Dr. Showkat Zargar, President ACMOMS, Dr. Muffazal Lakdawala and International Faculty and Past President, IFSO, Dr. Harry Frydenberg, from Australia, were present on the occasion.
Flagging healthcare as one of Government’s principal priorities, Mufti Sayeed said the Government will welcome setting up of advanced centres of tertiary healthcare so that people do not have to travel to other parts of the country for advanced medical treatment. He said specialist doctors will be posted at all district hospitals, which will be equipped with latest machines to cater to the needs of the people.
Urging upon the doctors to interact with their compatriots at global level, the Chief Minister said the Conference is a wonderful opportunity for our doctors to acquaint themselves with new techniques and best practices in vogue.
Referring to the potential Kashmir has in health tourism, the Chief Minister said the medical treatment costs in developed world have been on the rise. “People from western countries are finding the prospect of international travel for low-cost medical care to India increasingly appealing. J&K is also suited for medical tourism given the advantages we have in reduced costs for treatment, latest technologies and a growing compliance on international quality standards,” he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Health, said the Government is trying to put the health sector back on track after the colossal losses suffered in September 2014 floods. She also highlighted various measures taken by the Government to improve the functioning of delivery mechanism in the health sector.
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