Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], August 13 : In a significant move to enhance healthcare access for workers, the Gujarat Labour and Employment Department and the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) have signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with six leading healthcare institutions to provide 'Tertiary Care' and 'Super Specialty' treatment to insured workers and their families across the state.
According to a release, to provide 'Tertiary Care' and 'Super Speciality' treatment to insured workers registered under ESIC, and their dependent beneficiaries, Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) have been signed with six leading healthcare institutions in the inspiring presence of Labour and Employment Minister Shri Kunvarji Bavaliya.
Following the MoU exchange ceremony held in Gandhinagar, Labour and Employment Minister Kunvarji Bavaliya stated that healthy workers are the foundation of a strong economy and nation-building. Therefore, this initiative, which facilitates easy access to quality healthcare services for workers, will serve as a strong health security shield and provide significant financial relief to lakhs of worker families.
He added that through this initiative, workers registered under ESIC in the state and their families will now have access to treatment at super speciality hospitals with unlimited expenditure, as per their healthcare needs.
The Minister placed special emphasis on giving the highest priority to the health and welfare of workers and urged the medical administrators, doctors, pathologists and officials present on the occasion to do so.
He appealed to hospital administrators to provide the best medical services to every worker seeking treatment, with the same sensitivity and care as they would extend to a family member. He also directed that special care be taken to ensure that the government funds available under ESIC are utilised appropriately solely for the interest and welfare of workers and that there is no misuse of the scheme at any level.
Joint Secretary of the Labour, Skill Development and Employment Department Tejas Soni stated that the state government is continuously working for the socio-economic upliftment of more than 1.25 crore workers, including those in the organised, unorganised and agricultural sectors. Gujarat has always been a model state for the country in undertaking innovative and worker-centric initiatives. These MoUs for strengthening the health of workers will further strengthen the ESIC healthcare network across the state.
ESIC Regional Director Hemantkumar Pandey said that ESIC Gujarat is continuously working towards further strengthening the network of tertiary and super specialty healthcare services across the state. Including the six recent MoUs, 26 MoUs have been signed earlier, covering 13 government hospitals and healthcare institutions.
This network includes leading medical institutions of the state such as U. N. Mehta Institute of Cardiology and Research Centre, GMERS Hospitals, Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute (GCRI), Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre and AIIMS Rajkot.
In addition, the process of signing MoUs with 45 more hospitals and healthcare institutions across Gujarat is currently underway, the release said. Upon completion, the availability of tertiary care and super speciality healthcare services for ESIC beneficiaries in various parts of the state will be further strengthened.
MoUs Signed by ESIC-Gujarat with 6 Healthcare Institutions: - Shrimad Rajchandra Hospital and Research Centre, Dharampur, Valsad; Shrimad Rajchandra Sarvamangal Hospital and C. U. Shah Medical College, Surendranagar; Shri Giriraj Hospital (A Unit of Shri Giriraj Lifecare Private Limited), Rajkot; Gokul Lifecare Private Limited, Rajkot; NM Virani Wockhardt Hospital Limited and Dr. Bhatt Pathology Laboratory, Rajkot.
On this occasion, ESIC State Medical Officer Dr. Vijay Dhanak, along with ESIC officials, representatives of empanelled healthcare institutions, doctors, pathologists and administrators, were present.