23 new hospitals and 62 dispensaries will open in these places

Delhi: Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) has decided that its health insurance scheme (ESI) will be implemented across the country by the end of 2022. At present this scheme is fully implemented in 443 districts and partially in 153 districts. A total of 148 districts are not yet covered under the ESI scheme.

In the 188th meeting of ESIC held under the chairmanship of Labor and Employment Minister Bhupendra Yadav on Sunday, it was decided to expand the medical facility and service supply system across the country. In the meeting, it was decided to implement the ESI scheme across the country by the end of this year.

The Labor Ministry said in a statement that by the end of this year all the districts which are partially covered under the ESI scheme and not yet covered under it will be brought under the ambit of this scheme.

Decision to open 23 new hospitals

Medical care services will be provided through setting up of new DCBOs (Dispensary cum Branch Office) by empaneled MIMP (Modified Insurance Medical Practitioner) and tie-up hospitals of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY). In addition, ESIC has decided to set up 23 new 100-bed hospitals across the country.

Hospitals and dispensaries will be built here

Of these, six hospitals are in Palghar, Satara, Pen, Jalgaon, Chakan and Panvel in Maharashtra, four in Hisar, Sonepat, Ambala and Rohtak in Haryana and two in Chengalpattu and Erode in Tamil Nadu, two in Moradabad and Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh and Two hospitals will be opened in Tumkur and Udupi in Karnataka.

At the same time, one hospital each will be opened in Nellore in Andhra Pradesh, Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh, Mulgaon in Goa, Sanand in Gujarat, Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, Jharsuguda in Odisha and Kharagpur in West Bengal. Apart from these hospitals, five dispensaries will also be opened at 62 places. In addition, 48 dispensaries will be opened in Maharashtra, 12 in Delhi and 2 in Haryana.

they will benefit

Better quality health services will be provided to the insured employees and their dependents in these hospitals and dispensaries. In order to provide quality medical care, ESIC is augmenting its infrastructure by setting up new hospitals and upgrading the existing hospitals, the statement said.

ESIC in its meeting advised the insured workers and their family members through the empaneled hospitals of Ayushman Bharat PMJAY in all the areas where the ESI scheme has been partially implemented or is to be implemented, or where the existing ESIC limited health facilities, has decided to allow availing cashless medical care services

The beneficiaries of ESI scheme are already availing cashless medical care in 157 districts through this tie-up arrangement.

Three ESIC medical colleges will also be opened

It has also been decided that Radiation Oncology and Nuclear Medicine departments will be set up in three ESIC Medical Colleges and Hospitals at Sanathnagar, Faridabad and Chennai. This will be the first time that such services will be made available at ESIC owned facilities. Two cath labs will be set up at ESIC Medical College and Hospital in Sanathnagar, Telangana and Alwar, Rajasthan.

It was also decided to upgrade the existing 200 bedded ESIC Hospital in Pune to a 500 bedded facility. Upgradation of this hospital will benefit 7 lakh workers of Pune and their family members.

Other important decisions taken in the meeting included improving medical care services for insured workers and their family members. ESIC has decided to run the State Government run ESIS Hospital, Sonagiri, Bhopal directly under its administrative control. In order to bridge the gap of non-availability of specialists/super specialists in State Government run ESIC hospitals, ESIC will now hire the required professionals.