Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday asked medical experts to submit an action plan to reduce IMR and MMR and improve healthcare services in the State. As part the plans to make Andhra Pradesh medical hub, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu met medical and health experts, who submitted a draft health policy to the government.
Stating that every citizen was entitled to best healthcare services, the Chief Minister appealed to private doctors to cooperate with experts and the government in making healthcare accessible and affordable.
Mr. Naidu told them that the government would encourage setting up of super-speciality hospitals either through private partnerships or via trust. He also wanted them to focus on primary healthcare.
The Chief Minister said additional medical training centres and health institutes should be set up to increase the number of nurses and paramedics. All the 25 medical institutes would be provided with Wi-fi for virtual lessons from world-renowned experts from the field.
He also proposed the idea of working with corporate who have come forward to set up chain hospitals. “That apart, there is a need to focus on medical education from school-level,” he added.
During the discussion, Cancer specialist Jagannath said the State with over five crore people was not having a cancer hospital and suggested one such hospital should be set up for every three districts. Eminent gastroenterologist D. Nageshwar Reddy gave a presentation on the importance of primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare while well-known cardiologist B. Soma Raju said quality of services could improve by hiring more nurses. Former Health Secretary K. Sujatha Rao said California spends 30-40% of its budget on healthcare while referring to low allocation of funds to healthcare in the country.
Dr G.N. Rao of LV Prasad Eye Institute said the State was spending Rs 900 on an individual for healthcare and that this has to be utilized properly. Dr. Srinath Reddy of Public Health Foundation of India said more PG institutes should be set up in the State to attract students from across the country.
Health Minister Kamineni Srinivas, Advisor (communications) Parakala Prabhakar, Principal Secretary (Health) L.V. Subramanyam, Principal Secretary to CM Ajay Sawhney and other officials were present.
