AMARAVATI: With the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Contract Health Employees and its affiliated unions issuing a strike call over pending demands, the Health, Medical, and Family Welfare Department has put alternative contingent plans in place to ensure public healthcare services remain unaffected in Andhra Pradesh.
Commissioner of Health and Family Welfare (CFW) KVN Chakradhar Babu and Director of Medical Education (DME) Dr Vishnu Vardhan issued strict operational guidelines to district collectors, District Medical and Health Officers (DMHOs), and hospital superintendents, instructing them to maintain round-the-clock emergency, ICU, maternity, and surgical care.
Under the contingency framework, hospital administrations across teaching hospitals, District Hospitals (DH), Area Hospitals (AH), Community Health Centres (CHC), and Primary Health Centres (PHC) have been instructed to redeploy available regular staff to critical wards.
Where staff shortages arise, qualified Mid-Level Health Providers (MLHPs) and GNM-trained MPHAs (F) will be temporarily drafted for patient care, alongside alternative staffing arrangements in pharmacies, laboratories, and diagnostics.
District collectors have been directed to closely monitor hospital readiness, ensure smooth supply chains for essential medicines, oxygen, blood products, and backup power, and oversee supportive services such as ambulance transport, food supply, and laundry.
To prevent absenteeism, the department mandated strict verification of Face Recognition System attendance.