Lok Sabha Question No. 2279 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-12
Subject: Critical Care Block under PM-ABHIM in Bihar
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Smt. Lovely Anand

## GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRYOF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2279 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12.12.2025

## CRITICALCARE BLOCK UNDER PM-ABHIM IN BIHAR

## 2279. SMT. LOVELY ANAND:

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has sanctioned any fund(s) under Pradhan Mantri-Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) to establish a 50-100 bed criticalcare/infectious-disease block at Sheohar District Hospital in the State of Bihar and the status and timelines fixed for the same;
- (b) if so, the details of the approved cost, status and timelines fixed for the same;
- (c) the number of Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) in the said district connected to eSanjeevani along with the total tele-consultations completed in Sheohar district till date;
- (d) whether these HWCs are formally linked to tertiary hospitals (in DMCH Muzaffarpur/AIIMS Patna) for specialist referrals and continuity of care; and
- (e) if so, the details and the extent of such integration operationalised in the said district thereof?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRI PRATAPRAO JADHAV)

(a) & (b): Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) with some Central Sector Components (CS) which has an outlay of Rs. 64,180 Crores for the scheme period (FY 2021-22 to FY2025-26).

Under the CSS component of the scheme, an amount of Rs. 3389.59 crore is provisioned for the State of Bihar during the scheme period for the establishment and strengthening of 2546 building-less SC-AAMs, 333 Block Public Health Units (BPHUs), 38 Integrated Public Health Labs (IPHLs), and 38 Critical Care Blocks (CCBs).

Administrative approvals have been accorded to the State of Bihar for a period of five years (i.e., FY 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25, and 2025-26) for an amount of Rs. 3109.33

crore for the establishment and strengthening of 2546 building-less SC-AAMs, 158 Block Public Health Units (BPHUs), 38 Integrated Public Health Labs (IPHLs), and 38 Critical Care Blocks (CCBs), as per the proposal submitted by the State.

In Sheohar district, under PM-ABHIM CSS component, the state has not given administrative approval to establish 50/100 bedded critical care/infectious-disease block.

(c): A total of 93 Health and Wellness Centres are linked to tele-consultation services. From 2021 to 8 December 2025, 2,48,237 consultations have been provided through these centres.

(d) & (e): As per the Referral Guidelines, the Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) are linked to higher health facilities through a structured referral system. HWCs serve as the first point of contact, and as per requirement, patients are referred from Health and Wellness Centres to Primary Health Centre/Community Health Centre, from where, depending upon the patient's condition, referrals are made to District Hospitals and further to Medical Colleges/AIIMS/DMCH for specialised care. This tiered mechanism ensures timely access to specialist services and continuity of care.

The integration is operationalised through a formal referral mechanism which includes issuance of referral slips with clinical details, maintenance of referral registers at both referring and receiving institutions, and prior communication with the receiving facility. Patient transport including ambulance linkage is facilitated for referrals. The receiving hospitals record and manage the referred cases in the Referral-In register and provide backreferral/feedback to the initiating centre. This system ensures coordinated service delivery across all levels of healthcare and supports continuity of treatment and follow-up at the primary care level.

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