Centre approves 18 dialysis units in Andhra Pradesh

Vijayawada: The Union government had accepted to establishing 18 dialysis centres across the state with an estimate cost of Rs 22.47 crore,  said minister for health Kamineni Srinivas. Addressing media here on Friday, Mr Srinivas said that Union health minister J.P Nadda had sanctioned these dialysis units at the request of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

He said that the state government had earlier called tenders for establishing five dialysis units at Palasa, Sompeta, Markapur, Kandukur and Kanigiri, considering the condition of kidney-affected patients. Ten machines will be installed in each unit and new units will be established at Paderu, Tuni, Amalapuram, Jangareddygudem, Nuzvid, Narasaraopeta, Macherla, Atmakur, Madanapalli, Kuppam, Kadiri, Rayachoti and Adoni with the amount sanctioned by union government, said Mr Srinivas.

“The number of dialysis machines in state was only 130 before the government took over. But we have increased the number to 540 machines considering the problems faced by the kidney patients,” he said. Meanwhile, Mr Srinivas inaugurated  a CT scan in public-private partnership mode at the government general hospital here on Friday and said that a number of out-patients at the government hospitals have increased with the measures taken by government.

Mr Srinivas said that free diagnostics and scanning facilities at government hospitals is getting positive response from the public. “We will soon establish CT scan units in all major hospitals across the state,” he said. The minister stressed that attendance of doctors at government hospitals has increased with the biometric system and daily number of outpatients at GGH had increased from 1,500 in the past to 2,500 cases.