Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, on Monday, laid the foundation stones for Ophthalmology, Oncology and Joint Replacement Centres at Army Hospital (Research & Referral) and new infrastructure at Base Hospital, Delhi Cantt as part of the 262nd Army Medical Corps Raising Day celebrations.
The state-of-the-art facilities at Army Hospital (Research & Referral) are envisaged to significantly enhance the tertiary care capabilities of the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS), particularly in the domains of advanced eye care, cancer treatment, and complex joint replacement surgeries, while the new hospital infrastructure at Base Hospital is being developed with a capacity of 998 beds along with an additional 100 crisis expansion beds, to address routine and emergency healthcare requirements of the Defence Forces personnel.
In his address, the Defence Minister underlined the importance of continued innovation, capacity building, and integration of modern technologies to meet the emerging challenges in military medicine.
He exuded confidence that the new facilities, equipped with modern technologies and infrastructure, will provide quality medical care to the serving personnel, veterans and their dependents.
Singh commended the dedication, professionalism, and compassion of the AFMS personnel for rendering services to every nook and corner of the country, from towering mountains to inaccessible forests, from times of peace to moments of disaster.
He appreciated them for organising medical camps across the country and neighboring nations, including Nepal, while specially mentioning the successful conduct of glaucoma surgeries and eye care services. “Such initiatives strengthen our ties with friendly nations while simultaneously bringing about positive transformations in the lives of people. Your services have emerged as a powerful testament to India’s ‘soft power’,” he said.
While the Defence Minister reiterated the Government’s commitment to providing world-class healthcare facilities for the soldiers and their families, and termed it as top priority, he exhorted AFMS to lay special emphasis on ‘research’, stressing on the integration of modern medical science with ancient philosophy to present a truly effective healthcare model to the public.
“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the nation has made significant strides in the medical domain, from continuous expansion of healthcare infrastructure, increase in the number of institutions such as AIIMS to the access of healthcare facilities to everyone through the Ayushman Card, and advancements in fields such as cancer treatment, bypass surgery, and critical care,” he said.
However, when it comes to frontier technologies and deep research, we still have a long journey ahead. For instance, in cancer research, specifically early detection technologies and personalised medicine, several countries are currently ahead of us. We also must further strengthen our capabilities in developing advanced predictive models for cardiovascular diseases, as well as in neuro-research related to mental health,” he said.