FROM PRIMARY CARE TO LIVER TRANSPLANT: PUNJAB SCALES NEW HEIGHTS IN HEALTHCARE DURING 2025
— HEALTH COVERAGE ALL SET TO BE DOUBLED TO ₹10 LAKH PER FAMILY
— PUNJAB CELEBRATES FIRST SUCCESSFUL LIVER TRANSPLANT IN PUBLIC SECTOR
— OVER 4.59-CR PEOPLE AVAIL TREATMENT AT 881 AAM AADMI CLINICS, SAYS DR BALBIR SINGH
— FREE DIAGNOSTICS, MEDICINES & SUPER-SPECIALITY CARE REACH EVERY CORNER OF PUNJAB
— NEARLY 6L PEOPLE BENEFITED FROM FLAGSHIP “CM DI YOGSHALA” INITIATIVE
CHANDIGARH, December 28 (WISHAVWARTA):- Under the visionary leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, the Punjab Government has undertaken transformative steps in 2025 to ensure accessible, affordable, and advanced healthcare for every citizen. From primary healthcare to liver transplants, the year has witnessed unprecedented expansions in infrastructure, coverage, and human resource strengthening.
Punjab Health and Family Welfare and Medical Education & Research Minister Dr Balbir Singh, stated that the flagship Aam Aadmi Clinics have revolutionised primary healthcare, with 881 clinics recording over 4.59 crore patients’ visits, which includes 1.59 crore unique patients since established. A total of 107 medicines and 47 diagnostic tests are being provided free of cost at these clinics, significantly reducing out-of-pocket expenditure of the Punjabis. “An additional 235 Aam Aadmi clinics are in the pipeline, ensuring even wider reach,” he said.
In a landmark decision, the Mukh Mantri Sehat Bima Yojna coverage is all set to be enhanced from ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh per family per year in coming month, providing cashless treatment at government and empanelled private hospitals across Punjab and Chandigarh, said the Health Minister, while adding, “This is a step towards providing universal health care and ensuring that people get cashless treatment worth ₹10 lakh. Punjab will be the first state in the country where every family will be entitled to cashless treatment of up to ₹10 lakh.”
Dr Balbir Singh said that the Free Drug Initiative has been strengthened with the Essential Medicines List expanded from 276 to 360 medicines. Over ₹104 crore worth of medicines and supplies have been procured since April 2025, he said, while adding that CMOs/SMOs has been authorised to procure EDL- Non EDL drugs at local level and funds to the tune of Rs 16 crores have been utilised for this purpose since 01-04-2025, ensuring uninterrupted availability of medicines across health facilities, he added.
Similarly, the Health Minister said that under the Diagnostic Initiative, X-ray and ultrasound facilities are being provided at all secondary healthcare facilities or empaneled diagnostic centres at nominal government fixed rates.
To bridge the human resource gap, he said that 3,620 health professionals have been recruited over the last three years, including specialists, medical officers, nurses, and frontline workers. Special initiatives such as re-employment of specialists up to 65 years and hiring on empanelment basis are further boosting specialist availability, he added.
In the field of medical education and research, Dr Balbir Singh said that Punjab achieved a historic milestone with the first successful liver transplant in the public sector at the Punjab Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (PILBS), Mohali. Additionally, PG and MBBS seats have been increased across government medical colleges in Amritsar, Patiala, Mohali, Faridkot, and Chandigarh, enhancing tertiary care training capacity.
Under the CM Di Yogshala initiative, more than 6 lakh unique participants have benefited, with over 1.64 lakh people attending 5,347 daily classes across 23 districts. Guru Ravidas Ayurved University also launched a one-year Diploma in Meditation & Yoga Sciences to train 3,300 yoga instructors.
The Health Minister informed that the “Har Shukarvaar Dengue Te Vaar” campaign proved highly effective in 2025, with 70% reduction in dengue cases and 90% fewer deaths compared to 2023.
Significant strides were made in non-communicable disease control through the Punjab STEMI and Stroke projects, which are now expanded across all 23 districts. The STEMI project aims to provide timely and effective treatment for STEMI (heart attack) patients, with a focus on thrombolysis. The Tenecteplase injection— helps to dissolve blood clots in the heart—, which costs between Rs 25000 to Rs 35000, is being administered free of cost under this project. Similarly, the Punjab Stroke Project aimed at providing free mechanical thrombectomy to stroke patients suffering from ischemic stroke.
The Punjab Government has also launched the AI-based Cancer Screening Project in five districts, and District Day Care Cancer Centres became operational in Bathinda and Jalandhar.
Under the National Viral Hepatitis Control Program over 5.09 lakh people were screened for Hepatitis C and 3.69 lakh for Hepatitis B, with free treatment initiated for thousands. Hepatitis testing kits were made available at 2,400 Health and Wellness Centres and all Aam Aadmi Clinics.
Infrastructure upgrades included the revamp of the emergency wing at Rajindra Hospital, Patiala, new trauma centres in Amritsar and Patiala, and the development of super-speciality blocks, child blocks, and cafeterias in Faridkot. New burn units, hostels, and staff housing projects are also underway in medical colleges across the state.
“Our government is committed to building a robust, compassionate, and forward-looking health ecosystem,” Dr Balbir Singh reaffirmed.
