Sikkim health minister AK Ghatani on Saturday inaugurated the second phase of CATCH (Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Annual and Total Check Up for Healthy Sikkim) at primary health sub-centre at Marchak Ranipool in East Sikkim.
This marked the state level launch of the programme for the year 2017-18 to ensure cent per cent coverage. The department plans to ensure health check-up for all the people who have been left out in the first phase, and repeat check-up for those already covered.
Health minister AK Ghatani in his address reiterated that all the left-out people would be covered in this phase of CATCH programme. He urged the panchayats and people’s representative to generate adequate awareness about the programme among the rural people for maximum benefit.
He said the programme is a unique preventive health programme to ensure ‘Health for all’. ‘This is a first of its kind programme in the country and we have covered a huge portion of people,’ he added.
He urged for collective and coordinated efforts from all the health officials concerned, panchayats and public. He added that the proposed digital health cards would contain complete health records and would ease the process of data entry to a great extent.
The Minister also distributed token Health Cards on the occasion.
Commissioner cum secretary, health, Vishal Chauhan, principal director, health, Dr PT Bhutia, MD NHM, Dr Bimal Rai and other officers of the health department were present on the occasion.