AP govt adds more procedures in Aarogyasri; total reaches 3,255

VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has launched the increased procedures under the flagship Aarogyasri scheme in the state, offering a total of 3255 medical procedures to the people.

The chief minister said during a review meeting on health that the state government included 2196 new procedures to serve the people better. The government implemented Aarogyasri in a flawlessly manner and spent `3481 crore under this head in 2021-22, he said.

Bringing a set of additional ailments and medical procedures under the Aarogyasri umbrella, he asked  the Medical and Health Department to ensure that the required number of doctors are present in all hospitals while ensuring that there is no scarcity of medicines.

He said the addition will take the total number of free medical services under Aarogyasri to 3255.

The number of ailments treated under Aarogyasri, which stood at 1059 during the TD term, went up to 2059 in January 2020 under the YSRC rule. It rose to 2200 in July 2020 and 2436 in November 2020 (with 235 procedures including bone marrow); further to 2446 (including 10 Covid pandemic procedures) in May-June 2021, and to 3255 now, the CM said.

He said the spending under Aarogyasri went up to `3481.70 crore -- three times of what was spent during the TD term. With the government clearing the pending bills of Aarogyasri instantly, all empanelled hospitals are extending medical services to all declared diseases, he said.

The chief minister said that the government has filled up 46000 posts in the health department with the sole aim of extending quality medical services to the people. Now it is the duty of the officials to make use of the facilities and staff in a proper manner without giving room for lethargy, he said.

The chief minister asked the officials to introduce facial recognition methods for attendance in the health department while ensuring that sufficient numbers of doctors and medical staff are present in all hospitals.

Stressing the need to create a block-level supervisory system to monitor the working of the staff in the department, he directed the officials to send suitable proposals. He also asked them to work in coordination with the Women and Child Welfare Department and get regular reports on sanitation, air pollution, drinking water, cleanliness and toilet maintenance at anganwadis.

“There is a need to pay special attention towards high-risk pregnant women during delivery and to anaemic women to bring down the health risks among them, while periodically updating the health history on all Aarogyasri Cards, enabling family doctors to treat the patients effectively,” he said.

Medical and Health Minister Vidadala Rajani and higher health sector officials were present.