Labour minister to review criteria for setting up ESIC hospitals

New Delhi: Labour Minister Bhupender Yadav on Sunday said the labour ministry will reconsider building new hospitals by Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) on the basis of distance and numbers of insured persons.

Yadav stated this after he laid down the foundation stone of a 500 bed-hospital of ESIC in Manesar, Haryana, on Sunday, a labour ministry statement said.

Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Rameshwar Teli, Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar Lal and Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala and other dignitaries were also present.

"Ministry of Labour and Employment will reconsider the mandate of distance and number of insured persons (IPs) to establish new dispensary or hospital under ESIC, following Prime Ministers vision to serve the poor people on priority," Yadav said.

Further, he announced the adoption of equal pay scale policy for doctors of central- and state-supported ESIC hospitals and dispensaries.

Keeping the need of nursing staff in ESIC Hospitals, the minister announced to open a nursing college in Manesar.

The announcement was welcomed by the Haryana chief minister with the commitment of providing 5-acre land for this nursing college.

Yadav told that another medical college under ESIC will be established in Alwar.

The minister told that ESIC hospitals will be equipped for the treatment of job or profession-borne diseases.

Yadav said that 25 crore E-Shram Cards have been made within 4 months to ensure the Bima for kamgars. He told that a survey of migratory and domestic worker has been started on the instruction of Prime Minister to assess their conditions.

The hospital at Manesar will be built on an 8-acre area at the cost of Rs 500 crore.

Around six lakh workers from Gurugram and neighbouring districts of Mahendragarh, Nuh and Rewari will get treatment facility through this hospital.

The workers and other citizens will also get treatment under the Ayushman Bharat scheme in this hospital.

This ESIC hospital will have emergency, OPD, ICU, Gynaecology and Pediatrics, Orthopaedic and Cancer treatment facilities. Blood bank will also be established in the hospital.

Yadav also announced an open competition for students of Architecture to prepare the design of this Manesar ESIC hospital and declared cash prize of Rs 2 lakhs for first prize, Rs 1.5 lakhs for Second Prize and Rs 1 lakh for third prize.

Sanction letters to the kins of Corona-deceased persons, E-Shram Cards, payment under EDLI (employees deposit linked insurance) Scheme were also distributed in the programme.