Vijayawada: Health Minister Vidadala Rajani said on Friday that the AP government has created history by introducing a bidding model of recruitment for specialist doctors in the state.
The minister was holding a meeting with the heads of the department in the health ministry in Tadepalli on Friday. Rajani said the government was determined to extend medical care to all the villages free of cost.
In order to fill the vacancies in the hospitals across the state, the chief minister has expressed a readiness to spend any amount of money, the minister said.
“We are ready to pay a salary of Rs 3 lakh and above to the specialists in the bidding model,’’ the minister told the meeting. She said the responsibility of recruitment of doctors from village level to the teaching hospitals has been given to the higher officials.
Regarding the family physicians concept, the minister said the data entry should be good and accurate and the information given by the ANMs on outpatient visits, medical tests and distribution of medicines should be entered.
She said the doctors as family physicians should visit Anganwadis and every school and upload the details. Around 260 new ANMs were being appointed to assist the family physicians.
In addition to extending healthcare, the officials should see that quality food is served to the patients. In this regard, the diet bills have been increased for the first time after 2012. Earlier, only Rs 40 was sanctioned and now it has been increased to Rs 80 per day, she said.
Health secretary Krishna Babu and other senior officials were present.
