Telangana’s health sector stagnates with no major reforms in Congress’s one-year rule

As the Congress government prepares to celebrate its one-year rule, the public health sector in Telangana State has remained stagnant, marked by lack of imaginative big ticket initiatives. All through the year, the State-run government hospitals appeared to be run on autopilot mode, devoid of new ideas or fresh direction aimed at improving healthcare services for the poor.

Instead of bolstering and further improving the existing public healthcare initiatives, it appeared as if the Congress government was more intent in watering them down. While support was withdrawn for almost all the major health programs that were launched by the previous BRS government, rather strangely, the State government has so far not launched a single patients-centric health scheme that could become its flagship program.

All through the year, whenever Congress government tried to launch initiatives in the health sector, it triggered chaos and did nothing to improve overall quality of healthcare. A case in point was the hasty and unplanned faculty transfers in government hospitals. All it did was create unrest and left senior faculty disillusioned and unhappy.

The Congress government was also selective in transferring faculty. It gave exceptions and did not transfer senior office bearers of Telangana Government Doctors Association (TGDA), which left others fuming. Highly specialized doctors, with the ability to treat



complex cases were shunted unceremoniously to secondary healthcare facilities that had limited infrastructure.

As vector-borne ailments dengue and Chikungunya gripped Hyderabad during the monsoons, the State Health department appeared clueless in framing and implementing a proper public health response. As seasonal ailments skyrocketed in the midst of transfers of senior doctors from vital positions, confusion prevailed and quality of health care services in government hospitals declines.

Throughout the year, the State government appeared content in diluting public health initiatives aimed at improving Mother and Child Health services. From KCR Kits scheme with financial incentives for pregnant women, specialized nutritional kits for anaemic women to exclusive outpatient days for women for early detection of cancers under Aarogya Mahila scheme, the health department systematically undermined these flagship initiatives by rolling back financial support.

While many would see the permission to start 8 new medical colleges as a silver lining, the fact remains that the Congress government failed to act proactively and dragged its feet in shoring-up infrastructure and faculty after taking-over forming the government. It was only after the second attempt that the government managed to get permission for the colleges but in the process only got 50 MBBS seats for each of the medical colleges, instead of the 100.