City emerging as health care hub

Vijayawada: The city is gradually emerging as medical and health care hub during the last three years after bifurcation of the state due to increasing multi-specialty hospitals and availability of specialty and super specialty services and doctors. Medical services have considerably improved for cardiac, orthopaedic, neo-natal, joint replacement, eye operations, general medicine, ENT and other divisions.

Highlights:

• Specialty services available in 40 divisions like cardiac, orthopaedic, neo-natal, ENT and joint replacement.
• 500 specialist and super specialist doctors are available
• State-of-the-art technology equipment available to detect cardiac problems
• Capital region lagging behind in curing cancer and neurology cases

Nearly 10 multi-specialty hospitals are functioning in the city and attracting several thousand patients from Coastal districts.
Patients earlier used to go Hyderabad, Chennai and Vellore for the cardiac, gastro related cases, infertility cases, joint replacement, neurology, neo-natal complications. However, there has been a drastic fall of patients from the state going to Hyderabad or Chennai for medical treatment during the last three years.

This is mainly due to increasing multi-specialty services in Vijayawada and Guntur. State-of-the-art technology is available to detect and provide treatment to cardiac problems. Some reputed hospitals of Hyderabad, too, have opened branches in Vijayawada and started rendering services. Besides, Vijayawada-based hospitals also increasing in the city.

Dr Indla Ramasubba Reddy, one of the senior doctors and reputed psychiatrists in Vijayawada, said about 500 specialist and super-specialist doctors and another 1,000 other doctors are working in the city and rendering services in 40 divisions like cardiac, orthopaedic, ENT, opthomology, psychiatry, neurology and neo-natal. He said there is a drastic decline of patients going to Hyderabad, Vellore or Chennai for cardiac, orthopaedic and other problems.

Dr Indla Ramasubba Reddy felt it will take some time to attract the NRI doctors and NRIs investment. He said NRIs are unwilling to come to the city and open hospitals because the income in developed countries is more compared to that of cities like Vijayawada. He said it will take some more time to attract investment from abroad or other states.

Treatment in Vijayawada is definitely cheap for the people of the state compared to Hyderabad and Chennai because they need not spend more money for transportation charges and hotel room charges in Vijayawada.

Medical and Health care sector is providing livelihood to thousands of people in and around Vijayawada with employment opportunities available for nurses, lab technicians, para medical staff, doctors, ambulance drivers, technicians, pharmacists and of course a large number of medical representatives and managers.

Md Ismail, region manager, working for a reputed pharmaceutical company, in Hyderabad said the number of referral cases from Andhra Pradesh has drastically declined in Hyderabad. Ismail, a native of Vijayawada and worked as a medical representative and area manager and now been working in Hyderabad as regional manager, for two states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Ismail pointed out Vijayawada and Guntur are laggging behind in neurology, oncology (cancer) and infertility divisions and felt more has to be done to achieve progress in these three divisions.

As far as cancer is concerned there is no worth mentioning hospital or research centre in Vijayawada. Consequently, cancer patients prefer going to Hyderabad, Vellore or Chennai to get better treatment. State-of-the-art technology is also not available to detect the cancer cases in Vijayawada. Similarly, there is shortage of expertise and super specialist doctors in neurology cases like brain stroke. After taking preliminary treatment in Vijayawada, the patients suffering from neurology cases are going to Hyderabad or Vellore for the treatment.

Liver transplantation, knee replacement, kidney transplantation facilities are available in the capital region with less expenditure compared to other big cities. But, heart transplantation facility is not available in Vijayawada.

Indian Medical Association State president Potluri Gangadhara Rao felt that the government should consider medical and health care as industry and implement the single desk system to sanction licences for the setting up of hospitals. He said nearly 20 permissions should be obtained from various government departments like Pollution Control Board, power, revenue, fire department etc and it is taking a lot of time to get the permissions.

P Gangadhara Rao said though there is considerable improvement in health care services in Vijayawada but reputed institutions like AIIMS is yet to be set up in the capital region. He said the government signed MoU with the UK-based company but the setting up of multi-specialty hospital works not yet started in the capital region. He said people will be benefited if the health care sector is developed by the government.

By Md Ameen