Shri Amit Shah, Union Minister for Home Affairs & Cooperation laid the foundation stone of 350 Bedded (Upgradable upto 500 bedded) ESIC Hospital, Sanand Ahmedabad, Gujarat today.  The 350 bedded hospital will have OPD, indoor facilities, X-ray, radiology, laboratory, operation theater, Obstetrics & Gynaecology facilities, ICU and ultrasound among other modern facilities.  Construction of the hospital spread over 9.5 acres would entail an expenditure of Rs. 500 crores.  It may soon be upgraded to 500 bedded hospital as per requirement.  The hospital would look after 12 lakh employees and their families along with the villagers of Sanand, said the Home Minister.

The Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah, reiterated Prime Minister’s three pronged holistic approach towards health infrastructure which includes, expansion of medical science infrastructure and human resources; bringing traditional Indian medicine like Ayush into the mainstream; and to expand the availability of expertise through the use of technology.

Speaking at the occasion, Union Minister for Labour & Employment, Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Shri Bhupender Yadav shared that with the cooperation of State and administration, it is possible to achieve the results efficiently. He said that the 500 bedded hospital would be among the most modern hospital with best medical facilities available not only to the employees but also to all villagers in the area.  No person will be deprived of health facilities, said the Minister. 

The Minister thanked the Prime Minister for providing the Ministry of Labour with the mantra of “Swasthya se Samridhi”. To make India self-reliant, it is imperative that every participant of labour force is healthy.  The Minister shared that the 70-year old ESIC scheme initiated by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar has served its purpose very well.  Under the ESIC scheme, there are 3 crore ninety lakh families and 12 crore beneficiaries.  Our presence is visible in 598 districts across the country and in the 75^th year of “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav”, the Ministry has resolved to expand ESIC’s reach in over 750 districts of the country.  ESIC is now working on occupational basis focusing on different sectors of work with special focus on health of women labour force, said the Minister. 

While thanking the Home Minister for inspiring and laying the foundation for 350 bedded hospital, which would be upgraded to 500 bedded one, Shri Yadav announced a competition among students of all architecture schools and colleges in Ahmedabad to come up with architectural designs for the Sanand ESIC Hospital.  He also announced cash prize of Rs. 1 lakh for the winner, Rs. 50,000 for the runner up and three cash prizes of Rs. 25,000 each to the next three of the top five designs.  The hospital would continue to serve the patients and the local villagers for the next 100 years, said Shri Yadav.   The Minister took the opportunity to appreciate the efforts made by Government of Gujarat towards framing of occupation safety code.  He further shared the resolve of ESIC to expand its reach to the work force in building and construction sector so that they may also have an opportunity to lead a respectful life. 

ESIC Scheme in Gujarat

The Employees' State Insurance Scheme was implemented in Gujarat State on 04.10.1964. The Scheme was made applicable to Ahmedabad City and its suburbs in first phase and was later on extended to most of the industrialized centres such as Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Ankleshwar etc. The scheme in the state is administered through Regional Office Ahmedabad, two Sub Regional Offices at Vadodara and Surat, 34 Branch Offices and 3 Dispensary-cum-Branch Officer at Bhavnagar, Ankleshwar and Vapi. Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Gandhinagar, Surendranagar, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Mehsana, Morbi, Sabarkantha, Junagadh and Porbandar districts falls under jurisdiction of the Regional Office, Ahmedabad. Sub Regional Office Vadodara administers ESI Scheme in five districts of central Gujarat viz. Vadodara, Panchmahal, Kheda, Bharuch & Anand. Sub Regional Office Surat, administers Surat, Navsari and Valsad districts. Out of 33 districts in Gujarat, 1 District is now fully implemented under ESI Act i.e. Vadodara w.e.f. 01.03.2019, While 18 districts are partially implemented (R.O. Ahmedabad - 11 district, SRO Vadodara – 5 districts and SRO Surat – 3 districts).  There are 17.84 Lakhs Insured Persons under ESI Scheme with about 68 Lakhs Beneficiaries. The Medical facilities are being provided through medical infrastructure of 3 Dispensary Cum Branch Officer, 07 ESIS Hospitals, 04 ESIC Hospitals, 104 ESI Dispensaries, 1 Insurance Medical Practitioner.  Super Speciality Medical Services are being provided to insured workers through 37 private empanelled hospitals.

ESI Scheme in India

The ESIC is a pioneer Social Security organization providing comprehensive social security benefits like reasonable Medical Care and a range of Cash Benefits in times of need such as employment injury, sickness, death etc. Today, its infrastructure has increased many folds with 1502 Dispensaries (including mobile dispensaries)/329 ISM Units and 160 ESI Hospitals, 15 Medical Institutions, 32 dispensary-cum-branch offices, 744 Branch/Pay Offices and 64 Regional & Sub-Regional Offices.  Further, we have also started DNB courses in 9 institutions. 

Shri Rameswar Teli, Minister of State for Labour & Employment and Petroleum & Natural Gas, Shri Rushikesh Ganeshbhai Patel, Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Medical Education, Water Resources and Water Supply, Govt. of Gujarat, Shri Brijesh Merja, Minister of State for Labour, Skill Development & Employment, Panchayat (Independent Charge), Rural Housing and Rural Development, Govt. of Gujarat, Smt. Nimishaben Manharsinh Suthar, Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare and Medical Education, Tribal Development, Govt. of Gujarat and Shri Kanubhai Karamshibhai Patel, MLA, Sanand also participated along with senior officers of the Ministry of Labour & Employment.

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