Rajini dares TD members to visit state hospital to prove charges of lapses

VIJAYAWADA: Turning down sharp criticism of the health department by the Opposition Telugu Desam MLAs, who said there was hardly any patient and drugs at some government hospitals, minister Vidadala Rajini on Friday dared them to visit any hospital and prove this.

The minister was replying during the question hour in the state legislative council and explaining the “revolutionary steps” the present government took to make healthcare facilities accessible to the people across the state.

On the third day of the meet, TD member Chikkala Ramachandra Rao and others alleged that the YSR Congress government failed to clear the Aarogyasri arrears worth several crores and several government hospitals were having no patients and no drugs. Some hospitals are supplying expired drugs, they alleged.

The minister said these were baseless allegations. It was the YSRC government that cleared the Aarogyasri arrears worth Rs 632 crore that had been kept pending by the previous TD government, she said.

She asked the TD members to introspect on what they did in the health sector during their stint.

The minister said the state government was committed to develop all government health facilities on par with corporate hospitals and to match those with the public health standards. “Teaching hospitals are being upgraded as per norms of the National Medical Council. Under the family doctor programme, PHC doctors would visit the YSR health clinics twice every month on rotation basis as per a fixed schedule to provide health care to the people at the village level,” she said.

Rajini said the government was according priority for the healthcare sector in an unprecedented manner and set up 10,032 YSR village health clinics, sanctioned 88 new PHCs and 63 co-located PHCs and 301 new UPHCs in addition to the established 259 such.

She said there was ‘zero vacancy’ position in the health wing as the present government has recruited 48,639 persons to work at various levels from paramedic to specialist doctor. “In addition, we expanded the list of illnesses to be covered under YSR Aarogyasri to 3,255. Under Nadu-Nadu, we are spending Rs 16,852 crore to strengthen and develop health care centres by providing them with several amenities,” she said.

The minister said cancer was notified and was being covered under the Aarogyasri scheme to provide treatment to the patients.