CM Sarbananda Sonowal Launches Free Drugs Scheme for 651 Tea Garden Hospitals

GUWAHATI: Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal formally launched the Free Drugs Scheme for 651 Tea Garden Hospitals of the state at a programme organised by National Health Mission, Assam and Department of Health and Family Welfare, Govt of Assam at Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra on Tuesday.

As per a press release, launching the scheme, the chief minister said that most of the tea garden hospitals in the state could not provide medicines to the patients of the tea tribe community and for that purpose, the patients had to bear expenses in procuring medicines. Schemes like Mobile Medical Unit (MMU) service in 442 tea gardens with 80 MMU vehicles and wage compensation of Rs 12,000 to each pregnant woman of tea garden areas in four instalments had been some of the epoch making initiatives of the state government towards ensuring better health for tea tribe community, he said. Notably, under the Free Drugs Scheme for Tea Garden Hospitals 142 essential drugs, 47 surgical items, 45 consumables/linens and 6 numbers of disinfectants would be provided free of cost to the 651 tea garden hospitals of the state. An amount of Rs 20 crore would be spent every year for the scheme. Reducing the burden of out of pocket expenditure of tea garden population and making quality drugs accessible to them are the main reasons behind the scheme.

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