VIJAYAWADA: Health minister Kamineni Srinivasa Rao here Sunday said that he would shift his office from Hyderabad to Vijayawada by August 15 as running the office from Hyderabad is like working from the ‘exile’ and added that the office would be run from the premises of the Dr NTR University of Health Sciences (NTRUHS).
The minister also said that efforts were on to establish a super speciality hospital at Anantapur and reminded that the government had already cleared the proposal for setting up a super speciality hospital in Vijayawada. He also said that three cancer hospitals would be set up soon in the state.
Addressing the members of the Krishna District Chemists and Druggists Association (KDCDA) and Andhra Pradesh Drug Trade Association (APDTA)’s joint general body meeting here Sunday, the minister promised to resolve the problems faced by the pharmacists and chemists in Andhra Pradesh. “We will sit soon to discuss your complaints. Our government is always ready to solve the problems,” he said and asked them to maintain the professional ethics. The minister also said that he would see that the KDCDA members were nominated to the medical, dental and pharmacy councils in the new state.
He also said that they had found only less than 1 per cent substandard medicines and less than 0.1 per cent spurious medicines in the state. “This has been revealed during a review meeting with the officials recently,” he added.
The minister also said that efforts were on to see that the admissions into MBBS courses were made soon as they had met and urged Union HRD minister Smriti Irani.
Speaking at the meeting, KDCDA general secretary PS Patnaik urged the state government not to open the generic medicine outlets on its own as they (chemists) are ready to sell the generic drugs. “We will sell the generic drugs at the prices fixed by the government. Since we are serving the people, the government should help us by not selling the generic medicines,” he added.
Patnaik also urged the government to recognise the RMP and PMPs and allow the medical shops to sell the medicines on their prescriptions as there were no qualified doctors in the rural areas and also wanted several amendments to the Acts related to drug selling.
Srinivas Rao was felicitated on the occasion. Vijayawada MP Kesineni Srinivas, mayor Koneru Sridhar, Central MLA Bonda Umamaheswara Rao, KDCDA president Vadde Venkata Rao, APDTA president KV Koteswara Rao and others attended the meeting.