Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya today chaired the Doctors Day Celebration at Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC) in the presence of Dr Bharti Pravin Pawar, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare and Union Health Secretary, Shri Rajesh Bhushan.

Saluting the medical fraternity for their selfless service, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya said that “Our physicians and medical professionals have played a crucial role in our lives. Celebrating the National Doctors Day on 1st July every year is one such effort to recognise their immense role. The day marks the birth as well as death anniversary of the legendary Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, one of the pioneers of the medical profession in independent India and a physician par excellence.”

He further added that “This year being the 75th year of our Independence and with the ongoing celebration of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, we are also celebrating National Doctors' Day by felicitating the stalwarts from the medical fraternity who are more than 75 years of age for their outstanding dedication and valuable contribution as a doctor to society, humanity and nation.

Dr Mansukh Mandaviya said that “we must take inspiration from Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy who was an able doctor and administrator. He said that it is our pious duty to keep the health of our nation as the first priority.” Saluting the efforts of the medical workforce, Dr. Mandaviya said that “Health is seen as a seva in our country and our medical professionals have followed our country’s tradition of “Seva bhav” and “Seva Parmo Dharma” by working tirelessly and selflessly. This was the sole reason that our COVID warriors rose to the occasion and performed their duty in a selfless manner. He further emphasized that our efforts need to be in the direction of advancement of the Nation; the Nation should always come first. We must continue our seva bhav as only then will we be able to build a Healthy India, which in turn leads to a Samruddha Rashtra.

Focussing on the recent challenges like TB, Cataract, Leprosy etc, he urged all the medical professionals and other stakeholders to work with commitment and dedication to fulfil the targets like achieving a TB Mukt Bharat and leprosy eradication from the country.

Showcasing the dedication in government’s promise towards ensuring health for all, Dr. Mandaviya said that health sector dynamics are changing rapidly in the country and under the visionary leadership of our Hon’ble Prime Minister, Government has been working with all stakeholders towards creating a holistic health ecosystem with the overall aim of affordability, availability, accessibility and quality of health services by creating a long-term synergies.

Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare thanked the medical professionals for their relentless efforts and making India a global success story in COVID management. She said that “along with seva of all patients, we all are working towards a Swasthya Bharat and a Sudradh Bharat. She also informed that the government is incorporating new age technology in the health sector, taking various initiatives like telemedicine services in mission mode to even the remotest part of the country. Only this way, we would be able to create an Aatmanirbhar Bharat.”

While lauding their efforts, she also appealed to take inspiration from vibrant contributions from our ancient past. “Medical practitioners like Charak, Sushruta, Patanjali, Jeevak, Dhanvantari, Agnivesh, Chyavan have contributed immensely and we must similarly make our contribution to the Medical field.”

Union Health Secretary Shri Rajesh Bhushan thanked the participants for their cultural performances and said that it is an occasion to reflect and celebrate our achievements, especially from the last two years of pandemic. Reiterating the selfless services of Seva, Samarpan aur Vishwas, he said that Doctors Day is a festival of these values and our traditions have taught us to remain dedicated to this Seva. The Union Health Secretary was hopeful that our youth would undertake this responsibility dedicatedly.

Dr Atul Goel, Director General Health Services, Dr Ram Chander, Director, Lady Hardinge Medical College, Dr. Arya, MS, Safdarjung hospital, Dr. Sherwal, MS, RML, Senior officials of the Ministry, distinguished faculty members, staff and students of the institution were also present at the event.

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