Shimla, April 18 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh government has allocated Rs 193.75 crore for the establishment of two critical care blocks and five district integrated public health laboratories across the state, officials said on Friday.

At a Cabinet meeting held recently, the government approved the setting up of two 50-bed critical care blocks (CCB) at the primary health centre at Swahan in Bilaspur distrct and the civil hospital at Rohru in Shimla district, a government spokesperson said.

These facilities will be equipped with advanced medical infrastructure, including emergency services, intensive care units, high-dependency units, isolation beds, dialysis units, labour rooms, operation theatres and point-of-care laboratories, he added.

Each CCB will be integrated with the existing district hospital and function as a regular facility under normal conditions.

However, during health emergencies or outbreaks such as Covid-19, they can be physically isolated to ensure strict infection control.

Each block will be constructed at a cost of Rs 16.63 crore with an equipment cost of Rs 27.12 crore, the spokesman said.

The Cabinet also approved the establishment of district integrated public health laboratories (DIPHLs) at the Pt Jawahar Lal Nehru Government Medical College in Chamba and the district hospital in Hamirpur attached to the Dr Radhakrishnan Government Medical College.

The DIPHLs are aimed at improving diagnostic capabilities, enabling rapid testing and supporting effective outbreak management, the spokesman said.

Each laboratory will be equipped with clinical pathology, haematology, cytology, biochemistry and microbiology facilities under one roof to enhance efficiency and avoid resource duplication, he said.

Every DIPHL will have a team of experts consisting of one pathologist, one microbiologist, one biochemist, 11 lab technicians, one data entry operator, and two sanitation workers.

The Cabinet also approved the procurement of equipment for the under-construction mother and child wings at the Kamla Nehru Hospital in Shimla, the regional hospital in Una and the civil hospital in Sundernagar, the spokesman said. PTI BPL ARI