Doctors’ assn refutes Harish claim of allotting Rs 200 cr for OGH

Hyderabad: The Healthcare Reforms Doctors’ Association has refuted the claims of Health Minister T Harish Rao of giving Rs 200 crore for Osmania Hospital and said that it was the Rosaiah government which gave money; the BRS government was not disclosing its stand sought by the High Court.

Association president Dr K Mahesh Kumar said the minister was keeping facts aside on the OGH. He said the financial assistance of Rs 200 crore was allocated by the government in 2009 by then Chief Minister K Rosaiah. “We have never seen any blueprint of plan and budget allocation GO to OGH so far after 2014. “Only for rejuvenation of old heritage structure somewhere around Rs 2 crore or Rs 20 crore was released,” he said.

Dr. Kumar asked as to why the government was unable to take a final decision on the heritage building since four years? The HC is asking the same since the last four and half years. The court wants the government to decide whether it was willing to construct a new building with or without demolishing the dilapidated structure. Even in the last hearing on December 13, 2022, the court sought the government stand. It has been six months, but still there is no response and no affidavit filed, he stated.

The association president said, in the interest of poor patients keeping aside politics, the minister should hold continuous review meetings on the OGH issue until the new building is completed by filing affidavits in the court with blue prints of new OGH building and budget allocation with time-bound completion of the project.

The Joint Association for New OGH-Hyderabad had submitted a representation to the DME on Monday.

The representation said that it was getting more difficult for patients day by day with rising diseases and increasing patient flow to the hospital. With current facilities and infrastructure, patients were suffering more than benefitting; hence the public was not getting best quality health support which they deserve. Moreover, due to overcrowding patients were getting hospital-acquired infections, ‘which is the worst part’. All these can be put to an end only with new OGH building.