"The idea behind zeroing on a government hospital for my 75-year-old mother's cataract operation was to instill confidence among people, especially bureaucrats and politicians, that government hospitals too provide quality treatment," State Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Pravir Krishna told reporters today.
The surgery was performed at state-run Jai Prakash Hospital here yesterday.
"State hospitals are often criticised for not providing quality treatment to people who normally don't prefer to go to such hospitals despite having best of facilities", he said, adding, such procedures typically cost around Rs 20,000 in private hospitals but are done free of cost in government hospitals.
Krishna expressed the hope that his decision would encourage others to follow the suit.