Setting up day-care chemotherapy centres in each district, providing digital mammography machines to 20 district hospitals, colposcopy machines to KC General Hospital in Bengaluru and others in districts are among the announcements for the health sector from the Karnataka budget on Friday.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said state-of-the-art Critical Care Blocks (CCB) will be set up in each district to provide better healthcare to patients suffering from critical illness. Construction has already started in 15 districts.

In the current year, work will be taken up in Udupi, Davanagere, Vijayapura, Mysuru, Mandya, Dharwad and Koppal districts at a cost of Rs 187 crore. CCBs will be set up in the remaining nine districts in the next year, the chief minister said.

He said 100-bedded taluka hospitals will be constructed at a cost of Rs 280 crore in Anekal, Nelamangala, Hoskote, Shringeri, Khanapura, Shirahatti and Yelandur talukas. Announcing a grant of Rs 75 crore for repairs and renovation of dilapidated buildings, he said the Mother and Child Hospital building and other infrastructure facilities at the premises of KC General Hospital here will be taken up at a cost of Rs 150 crore.

In order to provide 24x7 emergency healthcare services to rural people, 25 PHCs will be upgraded to Community Health Centres (CHC) at a cost of Rs 350 crore over the next two years. In the current year, 15 CHCs will be operationalised, the chief minister said.

Forty-six new PHCs will be set up through Kalyana Karnataka Region Development Board at a cost of Rs 221 crore. As many as 6,493 Health and Wellness Centres have been established to provide quality health care services in rural areas. In the current year, Rs 130 crore will be provided for the construction of 199 health and wellness centres. Since there are no chemotherapy treatment centres in most of the districts for providing treatment and for continuous follow-up to cancer patients, a Day-Care Chemotherapy Centre will be set up in each district with Rs 20 crore, Siddaramaiah said.

For early diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer and cervical cancer that are increasing among women, digital mammography machines will be provided to 20 district hospitals and Colposcopy machines will be provided to KC General Hospital and district hospitals of Udupi, Kolar and Davanagere at a cost of Rs 21 crore, he added.