Agartala, August 14: Tripura Chief Minister Prof. (Dr.) Manik Saha on Friday laid the foundation stone for the Agartala Government Eye Hospital at the Capital Complex in Agartala and formally launched the Integrated Health Management Information System (IHMIS), marking a major step towards strengthening specialised eye care and digital healthcare services in the state.
Speaking at the programme, Chief Minister Manik Saha said the proposed eye hospital aims to ensure that people of Tripura can access treatment for common as well as complex and specialised eye diseases within the state. The hospital will also provide specialised treatment for various complex eye conditions among children.
The Chief Minister said the government intends to develop the hospital not only as a reliable centre for advanced eye care for the people of Tripura but also as a modern centre of excellence serving patients from across Northeast India.
He said many people from Tripura had previously travelled outside the state for advanced treatment of complicated eye conditions. The idea behind establishing a tertiary eye hospital in Tripura is to reduce this dependence and provide quality treatment closer to home.
According to the Chief Minister, the hospital is planned as a technology-driven Centre of Excellence in Ophthalmology, equipped with modern biomedical eye technology, advanced diagnostic facilities and surgical services, including operation theatres. He directed the concerned authorities to complete construction within the stipulated timeline and said provision would also be kept for future expansion of the hospital according to healthcare requirements.
The Chief Minister further said the hospital is planned to become an integral part of the medical services and academic system of Agartala Government Medical College and GBP Hospital. This, he said, would create new opportunities not only for patient care but also for medical education, clinical training and research.
Health Secretary Kiran Gitya said the state was moving towards fulfilling a long-standing demand for a comprehensive eye hospital. He said site selection, design preparation and funding arrangements had been completed rapidly following the Chief Minister’s direction, with the objective of reducing the need for patients to travel outside Tripura for eye treatment.
The proposed hospital will have 100 beds and will be built with modern infrastructure and healthcare facilities. Specialised services will include laser-assisted cataract surgery, corneal transplantation, diabetic retinal treatment, glaucoma care, treatment of congenital eye conditions in children, oculoplasty and neuro-ophthalmology.
The Chief Minister also highlighted the government’s broader efforts to strengthen healthcare infrastructure across Tripura. Trauma care centres have already been introduced at district hospitals in Gomati, Dhalai and South Tripura, while similar services are expected to begin soon at North Tripura District Hospital. Approval has also been given for new district hospitals in Khowai and Sepahijala, while the bed capacity of Gomati District Hospital has been more than doubled.
He said the combined bed capacity of Agartala Government Medical College and GBP Hospital has increased from 727 to 1,413. Tripura has also successfully conducted nine kidney transplants, while preparations are underway to introduce heart and liver transplant services in the future.
Work is also underway on a mother-and-child health department at GBP Hospital, while maternal and child healthcare services have been expanded in Belonia. According to the Chief Minister, these initiatives have contributed to a significant reduction in the number of patients being referred outside the state.
On digital healthcare, Dr. Manik Saha said digital patient registration had already been introduced at Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Agartala Civil Hospital and was now being expanded through IHMIS.
The integration of IHMIS with the Health Command and Control Centre will enable real-time information on services at different health institutions across the state and facilitate monitoring through dashboards. Hospital management and other key healthcare services will increasingly come under a unified digital platform, he said.
The Chief Minister said around 80 per cent of Tripura’s population has already been covered under ABHA IDs, while more than 18 lakh patient registrations have been carried out through Scan and Share services at government hospitals. Tele-consultation facilities are also enabling doctors at Agartala Government Medical College to consult specialists at AIIMS New Delhi, reducing the need for patients to travel outside the state for specialist advice.
Highlighting developments in medical education, Dr. Saha said the process of establishing a separate health university in Tripura is progressing. Dental and nursing colleges have already been started, while efforts are underway to begin academic activities at homeopathic and Ayurvedic medical colleges and hospitals from the next academic session.
He also highlighted the benefits being provided through the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana and Mukhyamantri Jan Arogya Yojana, under which lakhs of people have received cashless healthcare services. The Mukhyamantri Niramay Arogya Abhiyan has also received a strong response, he said.
On child and adolescent healthcare, the Chief Minister said nearly 90 per cent of children had been covered under the full immunisation programme. Through the Mukhyamantri Sustha Shaishab O Sustha Kaishor Abhiyan, nutrition and healthcare services have reached more than one million children and adolescents between the ages of one and 19 years. Health screening and treatment services are also being provided to large numbers of children under the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram.
Dr. Saha said the government was giving priority to making healthcare more accessible to ordinary citizens. A lunch facility at GBP Hospital is being provided to patient attendants at a cost of just ₹10, while a 100-bed night shelter has been constructed for families accompanying patients from distant areas.
During the programme, an audio-visual presentation was shown on the functioning of IHMIS and the changes it is expected to bring to healthcare delivery in Tripura. The overall design and modern service structure of the proposed eye hospital were also presented.
Health Secretary Kiran Gitya said the new hospital would play an important role in meeting the state’s long-standing need for advanced ophthalmic care and expressed confidence that construction would be completed within the stipulated period.
The programme was attended by Agartala Municipal Corporation Mayor and MLA Dipak Majumder, National Health Mission Tripura Mission Director Saju Wahid A., Agartala Smart City Chief Executive Officer Dr. G.S. Naik, Director of Health Services Dr. Debashree Debbarma, Director of Family Welfare and Preventive Medicine Dr. Anjan Das, GBP Hospital Medical Superintendent and other senior officials.
