Reiterating his government’s commitment to improve access to health services for the poor, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said as part of the resolve children of poor families suffering from congenital heart disease would be treated free of cost at Ahmedabad in Gujarat.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Sathya Sai Heart Hospital of Ahmedabad, Prashanti Medical Services and Research Foundation and the MP Department of Health was extended in the presence of the chief minister regarding the free treatment of children with congenital heart ailments.
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As per the agreement, the Ahmedabad-based hospital would provide free treatment to about 1,000 poor children. The MP state government would bear the cost of all travel expenses incurred in the process.
The CM said that around nine out of every 1000 children suffer from congenital heart disease and the cost of treatment ranges from Rs one lakh to Rs five lakh, which the poor and lower middle income families find difficult to bear.
He said such children could lead a normal life if the ailment is diagnosed timely and treated properly.
The health officials said the MP state government is implementing the Mukhyamantri Baal Hriday Upchaar yojana for treating such children and hospitals like Narayana Hrudalaya of Mumbai, Aurobindo Hospital of Indore and Chirayu Hospital of Bhopal have also been engaged for treating such children.
Officials said the MoU with the Prashanti Health Services was initially signed in 2019 and now it was being extended. Officials informed that till now 117 children from MP had been treated free of cost at the hospital.