Government will provide quality healthcare facilities to patients: Etela Rajender

Health Minister Etela Rajender on Friday said providing quality healthcare facilities to patients at State-run hospitals at all levels should be the primary focus for the Health Department in the coming years.

The Minister, who spent more than half a day convincing medicos at Niloufer Hospital and Gandhi Hospital to call off their strike on Thursday, visited the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) on Friday and interacted with patients and senior hospital staff.

Etela said Aarogyasri services should be streamlined, referring to the present system in which speciality services were not available to beneficiaries in all the private super-speciality hospitals.

Corporate hospitals in the city tend to offer their services to Aarogyasri beneficiaries in only one particular speciality, leaving other



specialities to other hospitals. For instance, one hospital provides services in only orthopaedic cases while the other provides treatment for heart ailments. The Health Minister said this would change, and all corporate hospitals must provide all of their facilities to patients.

For nearly two hours, Etela interacted with patients, doctors, healthcare workers and medicos at NIMS. “There is a need to improve super-speciality healthcare services at government hospitals. Moreover, there has been an increase in the footfall of patients, which has added to the pressure,” the Minister said.

Addressing the senior doctors of NIMS, including its Director Dr Manohar, Etela assured them that ample allocation would be made to improve the quality of patient care at the hospital.