Telangana: 19 govt diagnostic centres to be opened on June 7
CM KCR stated that the government's objective was to make all types of medical and diagnostic services more accessible to provide better healthcare to the people of Telangana State.
Hyderabad: The State government will open 19 diagnostic centres in select major government hospitals and district headquarters hospitals across the State on June 7 to further strengthen its medical infrastructure.
Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao directed the officials concerned to commence operations of these centres where about 57 types of diagnostic tests will be conducted for free.
All equipment and infrastructure are already in place in the district hospitals of Mahabubnagar, Nizamabad, Sangareddy, Medak, Jangaon, Mulugu, Mahabubabad, Bhadradri-Kothagudem, Jagitial, Siddipet, Nalgonda, Khammam, Rajanna-Sircilla, Vikarabad, Nirmal, Karimnagar, Adilabad, Asifabad and Jogulamba Gadwal. These centres have been established as per the directions of the Chief Minister earlier and kept ready for inauguration.
Chandrashekhar Rao, who held a meeting with officials of the Medical and Health Department at Pragathi Bhavan on Saturday, said the government’s objective is to make all types of medical and diagnostic services more accessible to the State’s population. He said in the wake of diseases like Covid, medical infrastructure was improved at several government health facilities, including primary healthcare centres, (PHCs) across the State. The State government is also implementing several schemes to provide free healthcare services to the citizens of the State.
The Chief Minister said the State government had revived the medical and health sector, which was ignored by the previous governments, and the establishment of diagnostic facilities was another step in this direction. He pointed out that diagnostic tests are crucial for treating patients and the decision to establish them in all the district headquarters of the State is a historic one. The diagnostic centres are being opened immediately in the districts where they are fully ready for commissioning. They would be launched in other districts in a phased manner.
The Chief Minister said medical treatment is getting costlier in the private sector, forcing the poor to sell their properties. The cost of diagnostic tests is overshooting the expenses of treatment. “As every other person is suffering from hypertension and diabetes these days, they have to undergo blood and urine tests to detect the ailment. In addition to the tests being conducted for heart, liver, kidney, lungs, thyroid and cancer-related ailments, the coronavirus has only enhanced the list,” he said.
Chandrashekhar Rao observed that though a government doctor prescribes medicines, people are forced to rely on private clinics for diagnostic tests spending thousands of rupees. This has become a heavy financial burden on the poor, he said adding that people are facing many hardships to get Covid tests done.
Under these circumstances, the government realised that diagnostic centres are as important as doctors, medicines and other health facilities at government hospitals and hence, is setting them up across the State in phases.
The Chief Minister reiterated that such a decision was revolutionary and showed the commitment of the State government towards public health. He wanted Ministers, MLAs, and local body representatives to coordinate with medical and health officials and ensure better healthcare to their constituents. These diagnostic centres launched during the pandemic would render major services to people. A suitable name would be given to these centres.
In all, 57 diagnostic tests will be conducted at these centres which include Covid, blood, urine, diabetes, hypertension, cardiac, orthopaedic, liver, kidney, thyroid and others. Besides general tests, certain expensive speciality tests will also be done at these centres for free. Arrangements have been made to send the test reports to patients via their mobile phone.
The state-of-the-art costly equipment, which was hitherto available in corporate hospitals and major government hospitals such as Gandhi, Osmania and NIMS hospitals, has been now installed in all these diagnostic centres. Latest testing equipment like fully automatic immunoassay analyser, five-part cell counter, fully automatic urine analyser, along with ECG, 2 D Echo, Ultra Sound, Digital X Ray and other such imaging testing units, are also provided.
The officials informed the Chief Minister that these testing equipment work very fast and can produce 400 to 800 reports per hour. As a result, more patients can undergo tests and obtain treatment quickly. The CM said CT scans would also be provided where there is a need. The government had already recruited the adequate number of pathologists, microbiologists, radiologists and other staff required to conduct the tests at these centres.
Elaborating further, Chandrashekhar Rao said the State government is bearing all the expenditure required for a person’s medical treatment. “There are different types of expenses for the medical treatment — that of transportation to reach hospital, doctor’s fee, medicines, diagnostic tests, transportation to go back home after recovery, and in case of death, funeral expenses,” he stated.
For the emergency services, the government is operating 428 ambulances under 108 services. About 300 vehicles are already in operation for pregnant women under the Amma Vadi scheme, under which pregnant mothers are transported to hospitals and back home after the delivery. He said in the diagnostic centres, the government had made arrangements to transport the samples of those taking treatment under the PHCs to the nearest centre for quick testing and reports.
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