Hyderabad, May 4, 2023 – Finance and Health Minister Harish Rao has urged officials to expedite the construction of various key health projects in the state during a review meeting held at Dr. BR Ambedkar State Secretariat on Thursday. These projects include Warangal Health City, TIMS Hospital, and the expansion works of NIMS.
Minister Harish Rao stressed the significance of providing quality medical care to the people and called for all necessary measures to be taken to complete the construction of Warangal Health City by Dussehra. Additionally, officials were instructed to speed up the construction of Sanath Nagar, LB Nagar, and Alwal TIMS Hospitals, aiming to bring super-specialty services closer to the people in the city suburbs.
The Minister reviewed several ongoing health projects during the meeting, including Warangal Health City, TIMS Hospitals, NIMS new building, Dialysis Services, Basti Dawakhanas, Palle Dawakhanas, Kanti Velugu, and highlighted the Chief Minister’s revolutionary steps in expanding healthcare and medical education in the state. The newly established Warangal Multi-Specialty Hospital is poised to become a medical hub once completed. He also emphasized Chief Minister KCR’s intention to have TIMS services on par with AIIMS in Delhi.
To achieve this goal, Minister Harish Rao ordered officials to expedite the construction of these hospitals, each expected to have 1000 beds. The tender process for the 2000-bed building to be constructed as part of NIMS expansion works should also be completed within ten days. Minister Harish Rao pledged to review the progress of these projects on a monthly basis, with officials expected to provide regular progress reports.
Regarding Basti Dawakhanas, Minister Harish Rao stated that 350 clinics are being set up in Hyderabad, and 150 are being set up in towns outside Hyderabad. He also announced plans to set up 500 Basti Dawakhanas across the state, with 363 currently providing services and another 57 ready to open. The Minister directed officials to expedite the opening of these dispensaries, with all 500 Basti dispensaries expected to be fully functional by the end of June. He ordered that hours of operation should be displayed on boards at the clinics. Boards should also be set up to inform the public that services are available on Sundays, and Saturday is a holiday, with services expected to be provided from 9 am to 4 pm every day.
The Minister also discussed the progress of the Palle Dawakhanas and ordered that 3206 of them should be fully functional by the end of this month. To achieve this target, 321 vacancies will need to be filled. The Minister emphasized the importance of making the timings of these Palle Dawakhanas easily accessible to the public and directed that the doctor’s phone number should be displayed on the board. He also suggested that boards should be set up to inform the public about the services provided, tests conducted, and wellness activities offered at these Palle Dawakhanas. The District Medical Officers have been instructed to review the performance of these Palle Dawakhanas.
In addition, the Minister directed that dialysis centers should be started and made available to the people quickly, starting 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 3006 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
