Govt. of Arunachal Pradesh Signs MoU with Religare Care Foundation and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital to Improve Healthcare in the State

NewsVoir

New Delhi [India], August 11: Signalling its commitment to improve the state's healthcare services and address the skills gap in the healthcare sector, the Government of Arunachal Pradesh (GoAP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and Religare Group's CSR arm Religare Care Foundation (RCF) in Itanagar today.

In the presence of Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Pema Khandu, Minister of Health, Government of Arunachal Pradesh Alo Libang, Chief Secretary, GoAP, Dharmendra, Secretary (Health & FW), GoAP, Liyon Borang, Dr Satendra Katoch, Director - Medical, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, and Dr Rashmi Saluja, Executive Chairperson, Religare Enterprises Ltd, signed the MoU.

Leading healthcare professionals and senior officials, including Shri Vivek HP Special Secretary (Health & FW), Dr Moji Jini, Director TRIHMS, Dr H Jauhari, Chairman - Department of Renal Transplant Surgery, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and Mr Rakesh Asthana, Group Head - Corporate Affairs and Business Advisor, Religare Enterprises Ltd were also present at the occasion.

Under the MoU, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and its partner Religare Care Foundation (RCF) will offer technical assistance to GoAP to strengthen the hill state's tertiary healthcare systems and infrastructure.

The government and the advisory team have already chosen their initial project for collaboration. They will establish a Centre of Excellence for Renal Sciences at the Tomo Riba Institute of Health & Medical Sciences (TRIHMS).

Arunachal Pradesh Government under the leadership of the Honourable Chief Minister has demonstrated a strong commitment to promoting various development initiatives related to healthcare, education and sports in the state.

Expressing happiness at the association, Shri Pema Khandu, Honourable Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh said, "The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is a step forward to fulfil the vision of providing affordable, accessible and equitable Health care services to the people of Arunachal Pradesh. It is an endeavour of the Government to bring the best of the tertiary health care services near to home thereby reducing the cost and also the psychological trauma the family has to go through for seeking such medical cares. By joining hands with Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and Religare group, we look forward for bringing about changes that positively impacts the lives of the people and also the entire Health care landscape of the State."

Alo Libang, Minister of Health, Government of Arunachal Pradesh said, "I congratulate Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and Religare Group, Religare Care Foundation on this association. In the first phase of the partnership, the Group will assist us in establishing a state-of-the-art healthcare facility dedicated to renal sciences and related research. This facility will ensure that patients requiring dialysis or kidney transplants receive the same level of care as those in other parts of the country. Moreover, healthcare professionals in the state will receive appropriate training to enhance their skills and bring them in line with their counterparts in leading states with superior healthcare facilities."

Commenting on the occasion, Dr Rashmi Saluja, Executive Chairperson, Religare Enterprises Ltd said, "We are grateful for our partnership with the Government of Arunachal Pradesh. We would like to express our gratitude to Honourable Chief Minister Shri Pema Khandu Ji for giving us this opportunity. This collaboration will greatly enhance the state's healthcare infrastructure and contribute to the professional development of healthcare practitioners. We believe that this partnership will give us a unique opportunity to serve the people of Arunachal Pradesh and make the state the healthcare services hub in the North East."

The state government has been working towards improving healthcare services and addressing the skills gap in the state. The state has been able to address the skills gap in the healthcare sector with a significant reduction from 34 per cent to 6 per cent in the last five years.

The state also boasts a workforce of over 8,000 healthcare professionals, including doctors, paramedics, pharmacists, nurses, and more. These skilled individuals work in over 500 government health centres across the state.

Additionally, the state benefits from various central government Schemes such as Ayushman Bharat and the North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS). Through Ayushman Bharat, the state has seen the establishment of health and wellness centres and dispensaries, which have greatly enhanced healthcare services.(1)

Dr Ajay Swaroop, Chairman - Board of Management, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital said, "We are committed to improving the healthcare ecosystem in the state. It is our firm belief that working along with the state's healthcare professionals, we will be able to bring a qualitative difference to the healthcare services in the region."

Religare Enterprises Limited (REL), a Core Investment Company (CIC) registered with Reserve Bank of India (RBI), is a diversified financial services company. REL offers an integrated suite of financial services through its underlying subsidiaries and operating entities, including loans to SMEs, Affordable Housing Finance, Health Insurance and Retail Broking. REL is listed on the BSE and National Stock Exchange (NSE) in India. The Religare Group (REL and subsidiaries) reaches over 1 million policyholders in insurance business, 1 million plus broking customers, more than 26,000 customers in MSME finance and over 10,000 customers in affordable housing finance. The Group employs more than 11,000 professionals servicing this diversified customer base with a presence in over 1,000 locations across India.

Founded in 1921 by leading philanthropist, Sir Ganga Ram, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH), New Delhi, has a harmonious blend of privatized health care along with the charitable dispensing of medical services for the needy members of the society for indoor as well as outdoor treatments. A Management Board comprising medical consultants of eminence and international repute governs the Hospital. The Board operates under the overall guidance of the Sir Ganga Ram Trust Society. As per the mandate of the Sir Ganga Ram Trust Society, the hospital offers free treatment to 20 percent of inpatients. The hospital is also the first large tertiary care hospital from the National Capital Region (NCR) to join the Centre's Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY). Within the next two months, the hospital will witness the inauguration of a state-of-the-art cancer facility with a capacity for 200 beds. It will transform the hospital into a comprehensive tertiary care institution boasting 1000 beds that cater to various medical specialities. Not only has this esteemed establishment achieved notable success in terms of numbers and quality of care across multiple specialities, but has also successfully conducted over 6000 kidney transplants with an impressive success rate of 95 percent. In addition, this medical facility boasts a highly comprehensive Liver transplantation program. The establishment has also successfully executed heart transplants and is working towards providing lung and hand transplantation services soon.

(1) https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/specificdocs/documents/2023/jun/doc202362208601.pdf

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