Srinagar, Sep 22 (PTI) An MoU was signed between J&K Bank Ltd and Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) on Tuesday to expand healthcare access and strengthen institutional financial services across the Union Territory. The agreement was signed in the presence of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

An official spokesman said that the memorandum of understanding was signed by SKIMS Director Mohammad Ashraf Ganie and J&K Bank MD and CEO Amitava Chatterjee.

Minister for Health and Medical Education Sakina Itoo and advisor to CM Nasir Aslam Wani, among others, were present on the occasion.

The agreement brings together J&K's premier tertiary-care institution and its leading financial institution to facilitate patient services, employee welfare, financial inclusion and support for healthcare infrastructure, the spokesman said.

He said a key feature of the MoU is the integration of SKIMS' OPD ticketing and appointment booking system with the Banking Correspondent (BC) network of J&K Bank on a six-month pilot basis.

The initiative will enable patients in far-flung and rural areas to obtain SKIMS OPD tickets and appointments locally, reducing the need for them to travel to Srinagar solely for the purpose of booking appointments, he said.

Under the agreement, SKIMS has nominated J&K Bank as a banking partner and extended customized benefits to its regular employees, including zero-balance salary accounts, waiver of specified banking charges, concessional loan rates, auto-sweep facilities, among other facilities.

The MoU also provides for dedicated counters at SKIMS for J&K Bank employees, while SKIMS will depute a physician to the bank's headquarters once every month to facilitate medical consultations for its staff, the spokesman said.

The partnership also envisages greater institutional support for patients and healthcare infrastructure, he said.

J&K Bank will prioritize CSR assistance for SKIMS hospital infrastructure and integrate the SKIMS Endowment Fund for poor patients with its Mpay Delight+ mobile application, enabling members of the public to contribute directly towards patient support, he added.

As part of the agreement, J&K Bank will also conduct fully funded digital financial literacy camps for SKIMS personnel and organize quarterly sessions on wealth management, the spokesman said. PTI SSB KVK

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