Maharashtra Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif said patients at all government hospitals will get free medicines. He warned of action against superintendents if patients are forced to buy them outside. The govt also plans to use surplus plasma.
Free Medicines at Government Hospitals
Maharashtra Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif on Wednesday said patients at all government medical hospitals in the state will be provided with all necessary medicines by the hospital and will not be required to purchase them from outside.
Answering a question raised by MLA Vilas Bhumare in the Assembly, Mushrif said action would be taken against the superintendent of the concerned hospital if any patient is compelled to buy medicines from outside.
The minister said the government’s objective is to provide quality and uninterrupted healthcare services to every patient visiting government medical hospitals. He said adequate availability of medicines would be ensured in hospitals so that patients do not face inconvenience in accessing treatment.
Mushrif also said the government plans to seek assistance of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the future to provide better and safer healthcare services to people at government hospitals.
Utilising Surplus Plasma for Life-Saving Medicines
Earlier in June, Hasan Mushrif directed officials to prepare a detailed proposal for the effective utilisation of surplus plasma available in the state for manufacturing life-saving medicines and improving access to affordable treatment.
A review meeting of the Medical Education Department was held at Mantralaya under the chairmanship of Minister Mushrif, which was attended by Medical Education and Drugs Department Secretary Dheeraj Kumar, Commissioner Anil Bhandari, and other senior officials.
During the meeting, discussions were held on the large quantity of excess plasma available in blood banks across Maharashtra. Officials informed that the state has around 450 blood banks, of which 79 are government-run, while the remaining are operated by private and voluntary organisations.
It was further informed that while the government sector currently has about 25,000 litres of surplus plasma, the private sector holds more than 3,00,000 litres. The meeting also deliberated on utilising this surplus plasma for manufacturing medicines used in the treatment of haemophilia, thalassaemia, and other serious diseases. Minister Mushrif directed officials to prepare a comprehensive proposal in this regard and initiate further action.
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