Telangana will be made role model for healthcare, says CM KCR

Budgetary allocations for the Health sector, was increased to Rs 12,367 crore in 2023-24 from Rs 2,100 crore in 2014, said CM KCR

Hyderabad: Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao said on Wednesday that the State government would continue strengthening the medical and health sector of Telangana and make the State a role model for the country.

Pointing out that the budgetary allocations for the sector, which were Rs 2,100 crore in 2014, were increased to Rs 12,367 crore in 2023-24, he said this stood testimony to the fact that the State government had accorded top priority to the medical and health sector. Laying focus on delivering quality treatment to the people, the number of beds was being increased from 17,000 to 50,000 beds in the State. This apart, oxygen production plants with a combined capacity of 550 tons were set up without relying on the Centre’s support, he said.

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The Chief Minister was speaking after laying the foundation for the 2000-bed Dashabdi Block at the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) here. Administrative sanction of Rs 1,571 crore was accorded by the State government to construct the block, which is being taken up under the NIMS expansion project. He also formally launched the KCR Nutritional Kit distribution programme in all districts.

Stressing that the health department was the most important department, which needs to be live and active round the clock, he said the government was also laying focus on the need to overcome the problem stunted growth among children due to malnutrition and other issues. It takes about 100 years for a particular race to overcome such problems. The basic objective behind launching the Nutritional Kit distribution programme was to ensure health of pregnant women and healthy growth of the babies in the mother’s womb, he said.

Due to effective implementation of KCR Kits, institutional deliveries had increased from 30 percent to 70 percent. As a result, Maternal Mortality Rate and Infant Mortality Rate had also reduced drastically in the State, he said.

Reminding that the number of beds in NIMS was increased from 900 before formation of the State to 1,500 currently, the Chief Minister urged the health staff, especially senior authorities and doctors not to relax towards delivering committed service to the people.

The Chief Minister wanted the health department to further improve its future planning in delivering quality treatment to the people. This apart, the department’s public relations also need to be improved to disseminate information on services being rendered to the people, he said.

The quest for excellence never ends and reforms will continue, he said, adding that the Health department should emerge as the top department in the State.

Recalling the excellent service delivered by Gandhi Hospital during the Covid-19 pandemic, he said doctors and nurses at the hospital had saved many people who were in critical condition.

“The kind of service you (Gandhi Hospital staff) gave during the pandemic has improved the status of Telangana State,” Chandrashekhar Rao said.

Health Minister T Harish Rao said laying the foundation for the ‘Dasabdhi Vaidya Bhavanam’ was a historic moment as it would add 2,000 more beds at NIMS. In addition to this facility, the State government was constructing a health city at Warangal with 2,100 beds. Similarly, four super specialty hospitals were being constructed at Alwal, Erragadda, LB Nagar and Gachibowli, he said.

Prior to formation of the State, not a single medical college was constructed and now one medical and nursing college was being set up in each district, he said. In the past, students had to travel abroad to pursue medicine due to insufficient medical seats, but now 22 MBBS seats were available for one 1 population. This apart, diagnostic centres, which perform 134 diagnostic tests for free, were also established, he said.

Hyderabad had emerged as an IT Hub, Pharma Hub and was now progressing to emerge as a Health Hub, he said.

“The BRS government is indulging in nutritional politics but unfortunately, opposition parties are busy in partition politics. Telangana people are aware of such cheap politics,” Harish Rao said.

New viruses more hazardous than corona virus

Recalling a conversation with Central Entomology officials, who had come to suggest remedial measures during the locust attack in some parts of the country a few years ago, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao said experts had predicted the emergence of new viruses that would be more hazardous than the corona virus.

From northern India, the locust swarms had made their way into Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and reached the borders of Adilabad. As per union government guidelines, district Collectors and police in the northern part of Adilabad were alerted and equipped with fire extinguishers to protect people and crops, he said.

When inquired about remedial measures, the officials had said locust could not be eliminated. They had advised that human loss would be minimal, if there was a good healthcare system in place. Since then, the State government has been focusing more on strengthening the health sector and the results were evident, the Chief Minister said.