VIJAYAWADA: How can you get medical specialists to work at government hospitals free of cost? The Chandrababu Naidu government has hit upon an idea. It wants to offer VIP darshan and accommodation for medical specialists at temples like Tirumala in return for serving at government hospitals.
The State cabinet which met here Tuesday, discussed threadbare ways to improve medical care in government hospitals. It came up with the idea of requisitioning the services of specialists, who volunteer to serve free of cost, and also those seeking a decent remuneration. As per the decision, the government wants to provide accommodation and VIP darshan for them at temples, including Tirumala, Srisailam, Kanaka Durga, Annavaram and Simhachalam. “We want to improve the quality of medicare in hospitals. We want to reach out to NRI, non-Indian specialists and even those from the UNO. We will have a portal where the doctors interested in serving the poor at government hospitals could register themselves,” Naidu said.
The chief minister said the government would also let patients have their doctor of choice to treat them. The cabinet, by another decision, approved a proposal to increase commission payable to fair price shop dealers from Rs 20 to Rs 70 per quintal of rice sold.