Naidu: Multi-specialty hospitals to be set up in every constituency

Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday announced the decision to establish multi-speciality hospitals, each with a bed strength of 100-300, in each of 175 assembly constituencies under public private partnership mode in the state.

On the status of health conditions of people across the state, Naidu said his government was aiming at transforming the state into a “Healthy Andhra Pradesh,” in the coming five years.

As part of the mission, Naidu said in collaboration with Tata and Gates Foundations, the state government would adopt world-class healthcare technology and practices in every hospital.

“Every constituency will have a 100-300 bed multi-speciality hospital. Out of 175 constituencies, 70 already have such facilities. The remaining 105 will get new hospitals under PPP mode with viability gap funding and land allotment. We shall study similar models being followed in Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh to ensure best practices,” he informed the reporters at the Secretariat.

Naidu also announced that a global-scale mega medicity will be established in Amaravati under PPP mode with the central assistance. “The Centre has plans to develop 25 such medicities across India, and discussions are underway to locate one in Amaravati,” he said.

The proposed medicity at Amaravati will be established in 200 acres of which 100 acres would be utilised for building up healthcare infrastructure, 40 acres for residential purposes for the doctors and associated professions and the remaining 20 acres would be used for commercial use. “This initiative, jointly handled by the health department and Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA), will also promote health tourism,” he said.

Naidu said Andhra Pradesh was leading the country in the implementation of Ayushman Bharat health accounts, with 88% of the population already covered. A pilot Digital Nerve Centre has been launched at Kuppam, he said, adding in the next phase similar centres would be set up in Chittoor and in the next phase, the entire state would be covered.

“The goal is to establish virtual hospitals within 26 months, store health records in DigiLocker, and track individuals’ health from childhood. Alerts will be sent to predict health risks. Mobile medical vans will facilitate home testing, and doctors will be available online and offline,” he said.

Naidu said the state government was aiming at completing full health screening of all the people by June this year and implementing preventive measures. “The focus will be on spreading awareness and changing lifestyle and food habits to reduce disease burden,” he added.