Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao will inaugurate nine government medical colleges on September 19 in Kamareddy, Karimnagar, Khammam, Jayashankar Bhupalapally, Komaram Bheem Asifabad, Nirmal, Rajanna Sircilla, Vikarabad and Jangaon, in the state poll run-up.
Health minister T. Harish Rao chaired a comprehensive review meeting with key officials on Thursday at the Arogyasree Health Care Trust office in this regard.
Harish Rao also announced the Chief Minister’s plan to expand Arogya Mahila clinics, which includes the establishment of 100 additional centres for women’s healthcare on September 12.
Speaking about the college launch, the health minister said: “The Chief Minister is unwavering in commitment to establish medical colleges across Telangana’s districts. This visionary initiative aims to provide high-quality medical education and healthcare services to the local population.”
He said that classes commenced in eight medical colleges inaugurated by the Chief Minister last year and that meticulous preparations are being made to ensure a seamless start to the academic year at these nine colleges too.
“The respective college principals have been entrusted with overseeing the admissions process,” he said. The minister directed Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences’ Vice Chancellor and director of medical education to reconvene on Friday for further supervision, to “ensure that students encounter no disruptions during the commencement of classes.”
Highlighting the expansion of government-run medical institutions, Harish Rao said there were only five medical colleges — three of them predating the formation of Andhra Pradesh — prior to the formation of Telangana.
“With the addition of these nine new medical colleges, the state’s government medical college tally will reach 26, offering a total of 3,915 medical seats. This marks a significant increase from the mere 850 MBBS seats available in 2014 at five government medical colleges,” said the minister.
Discussing the Arogya Mahila clinics, he said that the state currently boasts 272 such centres, and is poised to have 372 shortly. “These centres will exclusively employ female medical personnel, providing eight major medical services every Tuesday. So far, 2,78,317 individuals have been screened, with 13,673 requiring medical attention, who were promptly referred to hospitals by these dedicated healthcare professionals,” he said.
The minister also issued directives for the expedited release of results for the recruitment of 5,204 staff nurses. He emphasised the need to address pending matters related to the Pay Revision Commission (PRC) and promptly resolve the arrears of auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs). Additionally, he called for the expeditious completion of the appointment process of district medical and health officers (DMHOs) under the GHMC limits.
