Healthcare Revolution In AP: Medical services at doorstep

Lingamguntla (Palnadu dist): Taking healthcare to the doorstep of the people, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy formally launched the 'Family Doctor Programme' on Thursday. Under the scheme, qualified doctors in 10,032 Dr YSR Village Health Clinics would extend preventive healthcare to the needy across the state.

Launching the programme, the Chief Minister told a public meeting that the Family Doctor Programme would herald revolutionary changes in extending healthcare to the needy. Just like the pensions are handed over to the beneficiaries at their households, the healthcare facilities would be extended to the people at their doorstep, he said.

Besides visiting the bed-ridden people and treating them, Family Doctors would extend free medical treatment to the people suffering from both communicable and non-communicable diseases and to lactating mothers and anaemic school children and women, he added.

The Family Doctors would refer the patients in need of advanced medical treatment to Aarogyasri Network Hospitals while YSR Health Clinics would extend post-treatment healthcare to such patients.

The CM said that with one Primary Health Centre (PHC) serving every 2,500 people, the Family Doctor Programme would soon turn the state into a role model for other states in preventive healthcare, he said.

Each mandal would consist of two PHCs and every PHC would have two doctors with one of them taking caring of out-patients and the other visiting YSR Health Clinics in assigned villages, schools and Anganwadi centres twice a month, he said, adding that they would identify people suffering from BP, sugar and anaemic conditions and provide them treatment in the initial stages preventing serious heart and other diseases among them.