Naidu asks experts to prepare health policy

Hyderabad, Jan 6 (INN): With an aim to make Andhra Pradesh medical hub, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu met medical and health experts who submitted a draft health policy to the government.

The Chief Minister said that the government will encourage establishment of super-specialty hospitals either through private partnerships or via trust. Stating that only medicines and health centre don't constitute a hospital, the Chief Minister said that doctors and medical experts need to focus on primary healthcare too.

The Chief Minister said that additional medical training centres and health institutes should be set up to increase the number of nurses and paramedics. He also proposed the idea of working with corporate who have come forward to set up chain hospitals. 'That apart, there is a need to focus on medical education from school-level,' he added.

Stating that every citizen is entitled to best healthcare services, the Chief Minister appealed to corporate doctors to cooperate with experts and the government in making healthcare accessible and affordable. He has asked experts from the field to make an action plan on improving infrastructure, health indicators like IMR and MMR and healthcare services in the state and submit it to the government at the earliest.

According to the Chief Minister, all the 25 medical institutes will be provided with Wifi for virtual lessons from world-renowned experts from the field.

During the discussion, Cancer specialist Dr. Jagannath pointed out that a state with over 5 crore people has no Cancer hospital. He added that one in three districts should have one Cancer Hospital.

Dr. Jagannath added that Andhra Pradesh could work on the 'hub-and-spoke model' of service delivery. He informed the Chief Minister that a 1500 bedded hospital with an investment of Rs 120 crore is being constructed in Visakhapatnam.

Meanwhile, gastroenterologist Dr. Nageshwar Reddy gave a presentation on the importance of primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare.

Cardiologist Dr. Somaraju said quality of services can be enhanced by hiring more nurses. This will not only give an employment boost but also enable the government to take quality services to remote areas, eventually leading to women empowerment.

Former health secretary K Sujatha Rao informed the Chief Minister that California spends 30-40% of its budget on healthcare. She pointed out that our country and the state has dismally low allocation for healthcare and that this has to be increased.

Dr G.N. Rao of LV Prasad Eye Institute said that our state spends Rs 900 on an individual for healthcare and that this has to be utilized properly. Further, Dr. Santha Rao highlighted the importance of internships which could better healthcare services.

Dr. Srinath Reddy of Public Health Foundation of India said that more PG institutes should be set up in the state to attract students from across the country.

Minister Kamineni Srinivas, Advisor (communications) Dr. Parakala Prabhakar, Principal Secretary (Health) L.V. Subramanyam, Principal Secretary to CM Ajay Sawhney and other officials were present.