Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday, said the much anticipated launch of Made in India 5G services will revolutionise the remote healthcare sector in the country.

Addressing a gathering after inaugurating Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre at Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar (Mohali), Modi said, “This (5G services) will reduce the compulsion of the patients from poor families of the village to visit the big hospitals time and again.”

The PM said holistic healthcare has been placed among the top priorities in the country in the last eight years. He said the Central government is working on a target of at least one medical college in every district of the country.

“Before 2014, there were less than 400 medical colleges in the country. That is, less than 400 medical colleges in 70 years. At the same time, in the last eight years, more than 200 new medical colleges have been built in the country,” the PM said.

Pointing out that Ayushman Bharat has provided free treatment of up to Rs 5 lakh to the poor, he said as many as 3.5 crore patients have been treated under the scheme so far. The scheme under health infrastructure mission is creating modern health facilities at district level at a cost of Rs 64,000 crore.

The PM said that health facilities of the country were being improved by working together on six fronts. The first is the promotion of preventive healthcare, the second is to open small and modern hospitals in villages, the third is to open medical colleges and big medical research institutes in cities, the fourth is to increase the number of doctors and paramedical staff across the country, the fifth is to provide cheap medicines, cheap equipment to the patients, and the sixth front is to reduce the difficulties faced by patients by using technology.

Talking about preventive approach, Modi said due to the Jal Jeevan Mission, the number of patients suffering from waterborne diseases has gone down considerably. Similarly, cleanliness, Yoga, fitness trends, Poshan Abhiyan, Cooking gas etc. are bringing down the number of patients.

On the second front, quality testing facilities have been created and more than 1.5 lakh health and wellness centres are being established. Of these, 1.25 have already been established. In Punjab, about 3,000 centers are functional. All over the country, more than 22 crore people have been screened for cancer out of which 60 lakh screenings took place in Punjab, the PM said.

Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre is a tertiary care hospital with a 300-bed capacity built at a cost of Rs 660 Crore. It’s been built in Mohali’s Mullanpur by Tata Memorial Centre, an aided institute under the Union Department of Atomic Energy.

The hospital is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities such as MRI, mammography, digital radiography and brachytherapy to treat all types of cancer using every available treatment modalities like surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy and bone marrow transplant.

The PM said today’s event reflects the improved healthcare. The hospital will provide service to the people of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.  “To make India developed, it is equally important to develop its health services,” he contended.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann honoured the PM with a replica of Golden Temple. Besides Mann, Modi was accompanied by Governor of Punjab Banwarilal Purohit, Union minister Jitendra Singh and Lok Sabha member from Anandpur Sahib Manish Tiwari.