HYDERABAD: The Telangana Health department is set to inaugurate 30 new polyclinics shortly as part of a major initiative to upgrade Urban Primary Health Centres (UPHCs) into specialist-care facilities. The move aims to strengthen urban healthcare delivery and reduce pressure on overcrowded tertiary hospitals.
Under the programme, 145 UPHCs across the CURE region are being converted into polyclinics to provide enhanced diagnostic and specialist services closer to residents.
Of these, 30 facilities are nearing completion and will open soon. Once operational, these centres will offer a range of specialist services through scheduled weekly outpatient clinics. This setup will enable patients to access expert medical consultations without travelling long distances to major government hospitals.
According to health department officials, each polyclinic will provide consultations in eight key specialties: General Medicine, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Orthopedics, Dermatology, Ophthalmology, Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT), and Psychiatry. Specialists from government medical colleges will visit the centres on designated days to provide outpatient consultations and provide follow-up care.
The initiative addresses a major challenge faced by urban healthcare systems — the excessive patient load at referral and tertiary-care hospitals. Every day, thousands of patients visit large government hospitals for conditions that could easily be managed at the community level if local specialist services were available. By decentralising these services, the government hopes to improve patient convenience, reduce waiting times, and enhance the overall efficiency of the healthcare system, said a senior officer.