Raipur: The Chhattisgarh government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Central Public Sector Undertaking HLL Lifecare Limited to strengthen diagnostic services across the state. Under this initiative, the state will establish a network of ‘Atal Arogya Labs‘ to provide affordable and high-quality pathology services to the public.
Health Minister Shyam Bihari Jaiswal said the first lab under this scheme will be inaugurated on April 14 in Jagdalpur district.
The state is developing the Chhattisgarh Integrated Diagnostic Management System (CGIDMS) based on a “hub and spoke” model. The network will include:
- One state referral lab
- Four divisional labs
- 33 district labs
- 12 civil hospital labs
- 187 community health centres (CHC) labs
- 814 primary health centres (PHCs) acting as sample collection centres
This network of 1,051 health institutions aims to ensure that citizens in remote and rural areas have access to advanced testing facilities near their homes.
The services range from basic pathology to molecular diagnostics. These labs will use modern technology to send test reports directly to the patient’s mobile phone, reducing waiting times and increasing transparency in the treatment process.
The project is being implemented in phases. District labs will start operations shortly, and the entire network is expected to be functional within three months.
The government will also set up a command centre and a monitoring dashboard. This facility will allow officials to track the quality and timeliness of diagnostic services in real-time. Health department officials have been directed to conduct regular reviews to ensure the successful rollout of the scheme.
The new system will offer a wide range of tests:
- District hospitals: 134 types of tests
- Civil hospitals: 111 types of tests
- Community health centres: 97 types of tests
- Primary health centres: 64 types of tests
