Shimla: Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today inaugurated an MRI machine worth Rs. 23 crore and a Tertiary Care Cancer Centre equipped with LINAC and CT Simulator machines, costing Rs. 2.29 crore, at Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Government Medical College and Hospital, Nerchowk, in Mandi district. He also laid the foundation stone for a PET Scan Machine Block at the medical college, with an estimated cost of Rs. 51 crore.

Later, while interacting with faculty members and students of the medical college the Chief Minister said that strengthening the health sector was among the priorities of the state government. The government was working to ensure that all medical colleges in the state were equipped with state-of-the-art healthcare facilities, enabling people to access specialized medical services closer to home without having to travel long distances for treatment.
The Chief Minister said that the government was considering sending MBBS students and faculty members from the state’s medical colleges on overseas exposure visits to familiarize them with modern healthcare practices and advanced medical procedures being adopted internationally. He said that necessary steps in this direction would be taken soon, providing students and doctors with an opportunity to understand international healthcare systems and technologies.

He said that ensuring adequate technical and paramedical staff at healthcare institutions was also a priority of the government. In this direction, the state government had sanctioned 800 posts for technical and paramedical staff. He said that the government was continuously working to provide the necessary human resources and modern technology to improve healthcare services.