Govt to fill 13,000 vacancies in health dept: Harish Rao

Hyderabad: Health Minister T Harish Rao on Wednesday said the government would fill 13,000 vacancies in the Health department. A notification in this regard would be issued soon. Rao was speaking after inaugurating the Telangana Diagnostic Mini-Hub here. He said massive efforts were on to augment medical infrastructure at every level in Telangana.

The minister stated that a 2,000-bed facility would be established at Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), in addition to the 200-bed Mother and Child Health (MCH) centre at Gandhi Hospital and NIMS. In the last few years, the government had established 350 'Basthi Dawakhanas', which are providing a wide range of health care services to urban poor at the local level, Rao said. He recalled that in the past there were only two hospitals, Osmania and Gandhi. Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao wanted medical services for people living in bastis and started 350 'Basti Dawakhanas' in the city. "These days hospitals ask patients to go for various tests; hence the government is coming up with diagnostic centres for tests," said Rao.

The government made available 20 radiology to take up tests, like X-Ray, 2D echo, ultrasound, ECG. Personnel in the Basti Dawakhanas now conduct 57 tests; soon the number of tests would be increased to 134. He said mobile applications are coming up everywhere; hence the government started a diagnostic app, which can also be used to check old records of patients.

The minister said the government was constructing four super-specialty hospitals at four corners of the city. The Gachibowli TIMS was re-modelled. The NIMS has 1,400 beds; soon 2,000 beds would be added.

Rao stated that the CM had doubled the budget for the Medical and Health department to ensure that there is no shortage of medicines, doctors. He warned doctors not to write prescriptions for purchasing medicines from outside hospitals. "If any doctor is found violating, he/she would be dismissed."

Asserting that public representatives' work was not just restricted to roads and drainage work, the minister called upon MLAs and corporators to visit hospitals. "The government is taking up organ transplantation in hospitals and providing free operation for knee replacement," he claimed.