Gujarat government is set to announce its first Medical Policy within two weeks which, among other things, proposes for providing subsidy to those who wish to set up new hospital in the state.
According to Health Minister Nitin Patel the policy will be announced within 15 days.
"The draft of the policy is ready. We recently gave a presentation about our policy to the doctors and hospitals to seek their opinion. We will include their suggestions in the draft and announce the final policy within 15 days, after getting CM's approval," Patel told PTI.
Giving details about some of its provisions, he said the main aim of the policy is to encourage as well as help doctors in setting up new hospitals and nursing homes, which is a costly affair.
"This is for the first time when such a policy will be announced by Gujarat government. We want to help doctors in setting up hospitals across the state," he said.
The idea is to reach out to the people who are not getting specialised medical help near their homes, he said.
"Under this policy, we will give subsidy and financial assistance to those who want to set up hospitals and nursing homes anywhere in the state. The subsidy will be given for constructing the building and for purchasing specialised medical equipment, which are very costly," the minister said.
According to Patel, who is also a spokesperson for the state government, several criteria will be taken into account while finalising the quantum of subsidy.
"Subsidy will depend on the location of the hospital, treatments offered and number of specialised doctors offering services in the hospital. Rates of subsidy will be different from a hospital being set up in urban area to another coming up in a small town," he said.
Another objective of the new policy is to encourage medical tourism as well as to provide infrastructure for new medical colleges, Patel said.
"If we have more and more speciality hospitals, Gujarat can attract people from other countries to come for treatment. We can also attach medical colleges with these new hospitals having 200 or 500 beds, which is necessary to start such college," he added.
