The State government has initiated steps to provide modern machinery and equipment to State-run medical institutions such as Osmania General Hospital for performing live organ transplantation.
Health Minister C. Lakshma Reddy told the Legislative Assembly during the Question Hour that organ transplants were successfully performed at Osmania, Gandhi and Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences. The government has been providing medicine for organ transplant patients and it has recently released Rs. 5 crore out of the allocated Rs. 10 crore in 2015-16 enabling these hospitals to meet the requirement of life-saving emergency drugs.
During the current year, Rs. 1 crore each has been released to Director of Medical Education, Osmania General Hospital, Gandhi Hospital and MGM Hospital in Warangal in addition to Rs. 50 lakh each to Government General Hospital in Nizamabad and RIMS General Hospital in Adilabad. He exhorted the MLAs to educate people, particularly the relatives of the patients declared brain-dead, about the importance of organ donation.
Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen member Jaffer Hussain expressed concern over poor and lower middle class patients not able to cope with the heavy expenditure on medicine after organ transplant surgeries. TDP member R. Krishnaiah stressed the need for appointing super-speciality doctors in the government hospitals providing them attractive remuneration as they prefer private medical institutions for want of better pay packages.
Radiation machine
To another query, the Minister said the MNJ Institute of Oncology and Regional Cancer Centre purchased a radiation machine high energy linear accelerator at a cost of Rs. 14.51 crore. The MNJ had obtained permission from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board for the purchase of the equipment which is currently in the trial stages.
He was replying to charges of the Opposition Congress members that there were several deviations from the established procedure in the purchase of the equipment. They wanted a House Committee to be constituted to inquire into the issue and ascertain the facts.
Restoration of canals
Replying to another query, Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao said the government had sanctioned Rs. 284.85 crore for restoration of Buniyadigani canal, Pillapalli canal and Dharma Reddy canal in Yadadri district. Technical sanction and calling tenders for the work was under way. Once the tenders were finalised, the restoration of canals would be completed in 18 months from the date of the agreement.
He said the government had set aside money for acquiring land required for the project which was aimed at stabilising the existing ayacut and bring in new ayacut of 61,012 acres. He said the government was prepared to complete the work in six months provided the MLAs concerned took the initiative in making the land acquisition hassle-free.