Ranchi: Twenty-five children from underprivileged families, suffering from congenital heart defects, have been sent to Kochi in Kerala for advanced cardiac treatment funded by the state govt.Each child will receive specialised treatment worth up to Rs 10 lakh at no cost. The initiative aims to provide critical medical care to children whose parents cannot afford complex heart surgeries.Health minister Dr Irfan Ansari said financial constraints often force poor families to delay or forgo treatment for children with serious heart conditions.“This initiative was launched with the specific aim of ensuring that no child from a poor family is deprived of medical treatment due to a lack of funds,” he said.The latest group follows the first batch of 20 children, who were sent to Kochi on Aug 24 and treated successfully.Ansari said the govt plans to expand the programme and appealed to MPs, MLAs and local representatives to identify children with serious heart ailments whose families are unable to pay for treatment. State govt, he said, would bear all medical expenses.Highlighting gaps in Jharkhand’s healthcare infrastructure, Ansari said super-speciality medical services had not developed to the required level over the past two decades.“Changes in the healthcare system should be visible on the ground, not just on paper. Our goal is to ensure that every needy person receives timely and quality medical treatment,” he said.Health department additional chief secretary Ajoy Kumar Singh said the govt was adopting modern technologies and upgrading facilities to strengthen public healthcare. He added that providing advanced cardiac care to children remained a key priority so they could lead healthy lives.
