Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy laid the foundation stone for construction of a new medical college at Anakapalle in the district, along with 13 other medical colleges at different places in the State, through the virtual mode from his camp office at Tadepalli on Monday.
The foundation stones for construction of teaching hospitals at Paderu in Visakhapatnam district and at Pulivendula in YSR Kadapa district have already been laid by the Chief Minister in the past and the work on those two colleges has already started.
Mr. Jagan said that the construction of all the 16 medical colleges would be completed at a cost of ₹8,000 crore by December, 2023. In addition to these, land would be given free of cost to individuals, who wish to set up super-speciality hospitals in district headquarters and municipal corporations. All these would change the health infrastructure in different districts and bring Andhra Pradesh on par with tier-1 cities like Hyderabad and Chennai, which have all super-speciality medical facilities, in the health sector, he said.
While expressing her gratitude to the Chief Minister for sanctioning a medical college for Anakapalle, Ms. Jayalakshmi of the ‘jaggery town’, broke down while interacting with him through video conference. “My husband had tested COVID-19 positive and I rushed him to a hospital in the town, in an autorickshaw. I was told that his oxygen saturation level was very low and taking him to Visakhapatnam city, about 40 km away, was the only option to save him. I called ‘104’ ambulance and their timely help in rushing my husband to VIMS saved his life. He was discharged after his saturation level improved to 95,” she said. “The inclusion of COVID-19 under Aarogyasri was a boon to me as I did not have to pay for the treatment cost,” Ms. Jayalakshmi added.
District Collector V. Vinay Chand informed the Chief Minister that the two hospitals to be set up at Paderu and Anakapalle in the district, would cater to the people from the tribal and rural areas respectively. In the absence of super-speciality medical facilities at these places, patients were being forced to travel for one-and-a-half to two hours to reach the city.
Anakapalle MLA Gudivada Amarnadh said that the proposed government teaching hospital would remain etched in the history of the town. It would meet the medical needs of the people of Chodavaram, Madugula and other areas, he said.
Anakapalle MP B.V. Satyavathi spoke. Tourism Minister Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao was present.
