Patients covered under Ayushman Bharat and those from families with an annual income of less than Rs 5 lakh will be treated at subsidised rates at the 883-bed teaching hospital of Shri Sheetla Mata Devi Medical College in Gurugram, the Haryana government said on Tuesday.

Source: Haryana Standard

The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini in Chandigarh to decide how the medical college and its hospital in Sector 102 will be run and maintained. "Making healthcare services accessible and affordable for the common people is a priority of the state government," Saini said, according to the official statement.

Source: Haryana government statement via Chandigarh City News

Along with lower treatment charges, officials were directed to set up special facilities at the hospital for Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries and eligible low-income patients. The government said the aim is to reduce the financial burden of treatment on economically weaker families and ensure they get quality healthcare at affordable rates.

AMRIT Pharmacy on the hospital campus

Saini also directed officials to open an AMRIT Pharmacy on the hospital premises so that patients and their attendants can buy quality medicines at low prices. "Along with treatment, getting medicines at the hospital should also be easy and affordable," he said.

College seats and fees also discussed

The meeting also took up admissions to the 150-seat medical college, and the Chief Minister issued directions on the college's academic arrangements, the number of seats open to students and the fee structure. The official statement did not give the size of the treatment subsidy, the seat break-up or the fee amounts.

The campus, planned as Gurugram's first government medical college, is at Kherki Majra village in Sector 102, near the Dwarka Expressway. Industries and Commerce Minister Rao Narbir Singh and Cooperation Minister Dr Arvind Kumar Sharma joined the meeting through video conferencing, while Chief Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Rajesh Khullar, Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi, GMDA CEO P.C. Meena and other senior officers were present.