RDO level official to be appointed as Govt hospital administrator: Harish Rao

State government was considering to appoint an official of the rank of a Revenue Divisional Officer as administrator in every district

Hyderabad: Health Minister T Harish Rao said in order to improve overall administration in government hospitals, the State government was considering to appoint an official of the rank of a Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) as administrator in every district to oversee hospital affairs.

Disclosing this during Question Hour in the Legislative Council on Friday, Harish Rao said the government was focusing on the administration part of government hospitals and in future, it was considering appointing an RDO level officer in every district to assist the hospital superintendent in administrative matters. “The proposal is with the government. The move will help in improving services and better use of infrastructures available in the government hospitals,” he said.

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Stating that with various initiatives taken by the State government under the leadership of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, Telangana had developed into a major medical hub in the country, Harish Rao said the entire country was impressed with the development in the field of healthcare in Telangana.

“Today, the standard of government hospitals in Telangana has improved so much that a majority of the people are preferring to visit them rather than private hospitals,” he said.

The minister informed that with the introduction of programmes such as KCR Nutrition Kits, Hygienic Kits, Arogya Lakshmi programme and Amma Vodi scheme, there had been tremendous improvement in the health of pregnant women in the State. “Earlier only 30 percent of pregnant women used to come for deliveries to government hospitals. But now due to improved facilities and services, over 70 percent of institutional deliveries are taking place in government hospitals,” he said.

With the tireless efforts of the government and introduction of several programmes, the State was able to bring down the maternal mortality rate (MMR) from 96 percent in 2014-15 to 43 percent in 2023, which is the second lowest in the country, he said.

Replying to a question on the number of medical colleges in the State, the Health Minister said before the formation of the State, there were five government medical colleges and after 2014, 29 new government colleges were added, taking the total to 34.

Due to addition of the eight new medical colleges, 2,700 additional seats were added to government medical colleges, he said, adding that with the ‘B’ category medical seats being allotted to Telangana students, an additional 1300 seats had become available to them.

Apart from this with the amendment of the rules of admission, 15 percent of seats in these colleges reserved for students from other States had been made exclusively available to local students adding an additional 570 seats, taking the total to 8518 seats, which was the highest per population of one lakh in the country, he said.

“The State is contributing 43 percent of new medical seats nationwide in the academic year 2023-24. It’s a great achievement. Today our children do not need to go to other countries or States for studying medicines,” he said.

No shortage of faculty in government medical colleges:

Refuting the allegation that outsourcing faculty members were taking classes in government medical colleges, Harish Rao clarified that there was no shortage of faculty in government medical colleges and that all the faculty members were permanent staff.

The Medical and Health Service Recruitment Board of Telangana (MHSRB) had selected 852 candidates for the post of assistant professor in new government medical colleges in the State, he said, adding that 193 Assistant Professors and 59 professors were promoted and posted at various government medical colleges.

Apart from this 1000 doctors were recruited for Primary Health Centres, he said, adding that the State government had imposed a total ban on private practice by doctors recruited through direct recruitment working as faculty in government medical colleges.

Osmania General Hospital to soon get new building:

Harish Rao said the State government has taken a decision to construct a new building for Osmania General Hospital (OGH).

The State government had submitted a comprehensive report and submitted an affidavit notifying the High Court of the decision, he said, adding that the expert committee had stated that the present hospital building was not suitable for use, hence, the government was considering to construct a new building. “Government will be constructing a modern hospital building after High Court’s nod,” he said.