Free medicine scheme for BPL takes off in Himachal Pradesh

Shimla, Jan 14 (PTI) The Himachal Pradesh government''sscheme to provide select medicines free of cost to BPL personsat OPDs in government health institutions across the statebegan today.

The scheme, announced by Chief Minister P K Dhumal onIndependence Day last year, started today with the supply ofmedicines to the health institutions.

State Health Minister Rajeev Bindal said the ChiefMinister had announced three new schemes on August 15 lastyear.

The Matri Sewa Yojana under which free deliveryfacilities are provided to pregnant women, had already beenlaunched and as a result the percentage of institutionaldeliveries in the state had increased from 52 per cent to 67per cent, he said.

Bindal said under the free medicines scheme for BPL, Rs2.50 lakh were being spent on free treatment of BPL familiesthrough the Health Insurance Scheme under which 38 type ofmedicines were being provided in OPDs and the scheme wasproving beneficial to the patients.

Bindal said the Mukhyamantri Vidyarthi Swasthya Programmescheme had been launched to provide better health care toschool children under which the students were checked up forvarious health ailments.

He said in the of health check up programme, the work ofscreening of school children was carried out in 15,045government schools by female and male health workers andhealth check up of school children was completed in 12,520schools.

He said under second phase of health check up in 4,334middle schools, the students of primary, high and plus twoschools were checked up by a 13-member medical andpara-medical team for health ailments so that the studentsidentified during screening could be fully checked up and sentto concerned PHC for treatment.

The Minister said cluster camps had been organised in 649schools, adding that cluster camps would be organised by June2011 in all Government Middle Schools.

The awareness campaign had been completed in 1,385schools out of 2,010 Senior Secondary Schools, he said. PTICORR