VIJAYAWADA
Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has invited detailed proposals for setting up centres of excellence for cancer care at the government medical colleges in Visakhapatnam, Guntur and Tirupati, saying that these centres would help in curbing the menace of cancer to which thousands of people were succumbing every year.
The fact that 34,000 people died of cancer in Andhra Pradesh (A.P.) in 2020 reflected the gravity of the situation, he stated.
Addressing a review meeting on the health sector on Monday, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy said late detection of cancer was causing the death of a large number of patients besides pushing their families into a debt trap. The government should, therefore, deal with the public health hazard with all its might.
He advised the officials of the Medical and Health Department to focus on fighting cancer at the village level, which required speedy construction of village and ward clinics and primary health centres.
Efforts should be made to complete them by the end of 2022. From then on, the family doctor concept could be implemented effectively. Extensive training should be given on screening cancers, he said, to which the officials said an MoU had already been inked with Tata Memorial Hospitals.
Two medical linear accelerator (LINAC) machines for giving radiotherapy to cancer patients should be set up at each of the 27 medical colleges, including the 16 new ones that were coming up, the Chief Minister said.
Aarogyasri
Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy said 2,446 types of procedures were being covered under the YSR Aarogyasri scheme and its scope should be increased in order to benefit more people. Proposals in this regard should be submitted in a week.
The officials said approximately ₹4,000 crore was being spent on YSR Aarogyasri every year and that ₹223 crore was paid under the Ayushman Bharat scheme and ₹360 crore was likely to be paid this year.
The State government was contemplating transferring money under the Aarogyasri scheme directly into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries, from which the bills would be paid to hospitals through an auto-debit system. Necessary steps should be taken for that, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy said, adding that ₹5,000 should be paid to mothers in case of deliveries (normal or caesarean) done at government hospitals under Arogya Asara.
He called upon the officials to be alert to the likelihood of a resurgence of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Minister for Health V. Rajani, Chief Secretary Sameer Sharma and others were present.
