Chandigarh: Heart treatment has also emerged as an important part of the scheme. A total of 8,734 patients underwent diagnostic angiography along with Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (PTCA), while 554 patients underwent Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG). This helped ensure that life-saving heart treatment was not delayed due to cost.
5,770 Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy (PCNL) procedures, 2,247 Lower Ureter Surgeries, 911 Cementless Total Hip Replacement Surgeries and 830 Radical Surgical Procedures for the treatment of kidney stones have also been covered under the scheme. This shows the scheme’s capability to provide advanced and costly treatments across various medical specialties.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. Balbir Singh said, “The true measure of success of any health programme is not the number of beneficiaries registered on paper, but the number of families who have received timely treatment without any financial hardship. The success of a health scheme is seen in the lives it transforms. These figures paint a picture of thousands of families who have received quality treatment without worrying about hospital bills. Be it a patient requiring lifelong dialysis, an elderly person undergoing kidney replacement, a woman in need of safe caesarean delivery or a patient in need of emergency heart treatment—the Mukhya Mantri Health Scheme is ensuring that financial constraints never become a barrier to accessing healthcare.”
He said that the various medical procedures covered under the scheme are a testament to the efforts in Punjab to develop a healthcare system that is not limited to routine treatment alone but is capable of supporting patients in the costly treatment of serious and complex diseases as well.
Apart from the statistics, this data also points to a big change. More people are getting better healthcare services for serious illnesses due to affordable treatment. More elderly patients are regaining their mobility. More women are getting maternal health services in hospitals and more families are focusing on the patient’s well-being instead of saving money for hospital bills.
With the expansion of the scheme, it is emerging as one of the strongest social security programmes in Punjab, not only providing financial assistance for health treatment but also saving families from the financial burden of serious illness.
