Harish Rao accelerates construction of State-of-the-Art Warangal Health City, NIMS Hospitals

HYDERABAD: Finance and Health Minister Harish Rao has asked the officials to expedite the construction of several key health projects in the state during a review meeting at the Dr. BR Ambedkar State Secretariat on Thursday. This was in connection with projects such as Warangal Health City, TIMS Hospital, and NIMS expansion.

The minister emphasised the importance of providing people with quality medical treatment and urged all required steps to be done to finish the Warangal Health City before Dussehra. In addition, officials were asked to expedite the construction of the Sanath Nagar, LB Nagar, and Alwal TIMS Hospitals, which aim to bring super-specialty services closer to residents of the city's outskirts.

Harish Rao also reviewed many ongoing health projects at the meeting, including Warangal Health City, TIMS Hospitals, NIMS new building, Dialysis Services, Basti Dawakhanas, Palle Dawakhanas, and Kanti Velugu. Harish Rao emphasised the Chief Minister's groundbreaking initiatives to promote healthcare and medical education in the state, with the newly created Warangal Multi-Specialty Hospital positioned to become a medical hub once completed. He also emphasised Chief Minister KCR's desire for TIMS services to be on par with AIIMS in Delhi.

Minister Harish Rao directed that the construction of these hospitals be expedited, with each facility projected to have 1000 beds. The tender process for the 2000-bed building that will be built as part of the NIMS expansion operations should be concluded within ten days as well. Minister Harish Rao promised to monitor the development of these projects on a monthly basis, with officials expected to provide regular updates.

Harish Rao said that 350 Basti Dawakhana were being set-up in Hyderabad, with another 150 being built in locations outside of the city. He also announced intentions to establish 500 Basti Dawakhanas across the state, with 363 already operational and another 57 on the way. The Minister directed that the launching of these dispensaries be accelerated, with all 500 Basti dispensaries scheduled to be completely operational by the end of June.

He asked that clinic hours be publicised on notice boards. He also suggested that boards be put up to remind the public that services are accessible on Sundays and that Saturday is a holiday, with services expected to be available from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day.

The Minister also discussed the Palle Dawakhanas' progress and directed that 3206 of them be completely operational by the end of this month. This aim would necessitate the filling of 321 vacancies. The Minister emphasised the necessity of publicising the timings of Palle Dawakhana to the public and asked that the doctor's phone number be placed on the board. He also advised that boards be formed to tell the public about the services, testing, and wellness activities available at these Palle Dawakhanas. The District Medical Officers were directed to conduct an evaluation of these Palle Dawakhanas' performances.

Additionally, the Minister directed that dialysis centres be established and made available to the public as soon as possible, beginning with the local MLAs.

Speaking about the success of the Kanti Velugu program, Minister Harish Rao said that completing eye examinations for 1.31 crore people in just 67 working days was gratifying. The program has been completed in 3,006 wards (87%) and 9556 panchayats (74.72%). He also mentioned that 27% of people required glasses and on average, each team screened 120 people per day. Out of the total number of people examined, 19.64 lakh were given reading glasses, while 15.30 lakh people were identified as needing prescription glasses.

He stated that the distribution of prescription glasses to those in need has already begun, with 12 lakh people receiving them. However, the minister directed that distribution be completed as soon as possible in districts where it is less than the state average of 95 percent. The District Medical Officer was instructed to organise a special distribution push in Hyderabad.

The review meeting was attended by Health Secretary Rizvi, R&B ENC Ganapathi Reddy, DME Ramesh Reddy, DH Srinivasa Rao, TVVP Commissioner Ajay Kumar, TS MSIDC MD Chandrasekhar Reddy, CE Rajender, and other officials. The minister concluded the meeting by reiterating the government's commitment to providing quality healthcare services to the people of the state and ensuring that all ongoing projects are completed within the stipulated time frame.