VIJAYAWADA: Health Minister Y Satya Kumar Yadav held a three-and-a-half-hour video conference review with District Medical Health Officers (DMHOs) and District Health Services Coordinators (DCHSs) on Tuesday, raising concerns over poor performance, corruption, and lack of accountability in district health administration.
The review, conducted from the AP Secretariat in Velagapudi, was attended by Special CS MT Krishna Babu, Secondary Health Director Dr A Siri, and other officials. Health and Family Welfare Commissioner Veerapandian took part in the meeting virtually.
District performance rankings revealed NTR Krishna district as the top performer, followed by Vizianagaram and Prakasam, while Anantapur and Rayalaseema districts lagged behind.
Yadav demanded explanations from underperforming DMHOs and ordered corrective measures to enhance healthcare services.
Highlighting Rayalaseema’s alarming underperformance, he said secondary hospitals achieved only 10-24% of set targets. In Chittoor, only 42% of planned surgeries were completed, and in YSR district, just 3% of surgeries were registered under Dr NTR Vaidya Seva. He directed that at least 30% of surgical procedures be registered under the scheme immediately.
Addressing corruption allegations, Yadav mandated public advertisements clarifying merit-based recruitment practices after reports of money being collected from job candidates.
He ordered the transfer of lower-level staff every three years to curb malpractice and announced mandatory training for DMHOs. A biannual performance grading system will now categorise DMHOs as ‘poor,’ ‘good,’ or ‘very good.’