Handhold Aarogya Suraksha patients, CM tells officials

Vijayawada: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy stressed on the need for good public relations with the patients who were undergoing treatment under Jagananna Aarogya Suraksha camp.

During a virtual review meeting on “Aarogya Suraksha and Why AP Needs Jagan” held at the Camp Office here on Monday, the Chief Minister told District Collectors that the Suraksha’s main objective was to ensure that all patients in a family were cured of their ailments with full support of the official machinery. He said Aarogya Suraksha camps were not ordinary medical camps. The officers should meet the patients, find out about the quality of treatment given to them, whether their ailments were cured or not, whether they had to face any problems like someone asking for bribes, whether medicines were given properly or not.

He said Aarogya Suraksha camps had so far covered 98 percent of the village secretariats and 77 percent of the ward secretariats.

About 94 percent screening tests were also completed in urban and rural areas, he said.

While tracking them through the mobile app and mapping them with the referred hospitals, their details should be linked to the family doctors, village clinics and the medical staff at the village and ward secretariats, Jagan said.

When the officials said that doctors have so far identified 85,000 persons who need further treatment, the CM directed the collectors to refer patients having ailments and diseases uncovered by Aarogyasri to district level teaching hospitals and see that they too get free treatment under the Aarogyasri scheme.

The Chief Minister directed them to prepare an action plan to conduct four Jagananna Aarogya Suraksha camps in every Mandal regularly every month from Jan 1. He also said that a public awareness campaign should be conducted from November 15 to December 15 to help people download the Aarogyasri App and learn the process of using Aarogyasri services freely at 2295 hospitals across the state.

Speaking about preventive health care, he said that further diagnostic tests should be conducted on patients having diabetes and hypertension while necessary tests should be conducted on 9,969 persons having leprosy symptoms, 442 persons having TB symptoms and on 1,239 children suspected to have 4-D health issues. All these activities should be highlighted at why AP needs Jagan, he added.