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Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday said his government is providing cashless health service to over 70,000 patients every month and spending Rs 70 crore on this.

Addressing a virtual orientation programme for the newly recruited 203 assistant professors in the Health Department, Patnaik said the state government is committed to provide universal access to quality health care services and bring down the out-of-pocket expenses of the people.

The budget estimate in the healthcare has almost doubled to over Rs 12,000 crore in this financial year since 2019-20. It is more than 6 per cent of the State Plan, he said.

The Chief Minister further said: "We have always believed strongly in 'Sustha Odisha, Sukhi Odisha' (healthy Odisha, happy Odisha). For us, every life matters. It has been the fundamental principle of our governance in providing health care facilities to the people of Odisha."

Patnaik advised the new assistant professors to follow the 5T (transparency, technology, team work, time, transformation) initiative of the government and try to bring smiles on patients and their family members.

"We must always remember that our success does not belong solely to us. It belongs to society. Our success is a contribution of our society. It's our moral and ethical responsibility to give back to society and bring a smile on the face of people," he told the new recruits.

"In your case, there can be no better reward than a smile on the face of a mother when her ailing child is cured. This is the real satisfaction in your job," he added.

The CM also said that recruitment of such a large number of assistant professors at one go will boost the health education and improve the healthcare service bringing satisfaction for people.