VIJAYAWADA: In a major move to streamline public healthcare delivery, Health Minister Y Satya Kumar Yadav on Friday ordered a comprehensive overhaul of the medicine procurement and distribution system across all government hospitals.
The Minister directed the immediate formation of a high-level expert committee led by Director of Medical Education (DME) Dr. Vishnuvardhan to identify systemic loopholes and submit a detailed corrective action plan within two weeks.
The committee, which includes the Director of Public Health, Director of Secondary Health, senior APMSIDC officials, hospital superintendents, and pharmacists, has been explicitly tasked with studying neighbouring Tamil Nadu’s model to replicate its successful procurement practices.
The directives came following a gruelling four-hour review meeting held at the State Secretariat on Friday evening with Principal Secretary (Health) S Suresh Kumar, Health Commissioner Chakradhar Babu, AYUSH Director Ronanki Gopalakrishna, and other top officials.
Expressing strong dissatisfaction with the existing quarterly demand-supply model, Yadav stressed that allocations must be precise and data-driven. He emphasised that the committee must analyse patient footfalls, precise OPD and IPD metrics, and concrete hospital demands to ensure zero scope for data inaccuracies or logistical delays that leave patients without medicines.
The Minister instructed APMSIDC to implement a strict, fixed calendar system for purchasing surgical equipment and advanced machinery based on hospital indents to foster competitive pricing.
The review mapped out a healthcare infrastructure expansion timeline across the State. Preparations are being finalised for Union Health Minister JP Nadda’s upcoming visit to simultaneously inaugurate nine completed Critical Care Blocks and 12 Integrated Public Health Laboratories, while advanced negotiations are active to establish an All India Institute of Ayurveda in the state.
Furthermore, the construction of 150 AYUSH dispensaries built at a cost of Rs 44 crore is nearing completion, while land acquisition for six integrated AYUSH hospitals costing Rs 90 crore and work on three new AYUSH colleges backed by Rs 210 crore are progressing rapidly.
Satya Kumar also ordered National Health Mission (NHM) officials to expedite the construction of government medical colleges in Paderu, Piduguralla, and Machilipatnam, alongside fast-tracking Rs 1,450 crore worth of infrastructure works covering 100 PHCs, nine CHCs, 20 Urban Health Centres, and 4,500 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs.
The Minister ordered officials to secure NABL accreditation within the next three months for the state-of-the-art State Food Laboratories in Tirupati and Vizag, which were established with an investment of Rs 45 crore and have commenced testing.
To resolve human resource shortages in the food safety wing, Yadav directed the department to secure immediate financial clearance to fill 78 Food Safety Officers and 72 newly approved positions.
Additionally, instructions were issued to quickly fill approximately 150 vacant sanctioned posts out of the 278 allocated during the state bifurcation, ensuring these deployments are prioritised across state food labs in Vizag, Guntur, Tirumala, Tirupati, and Kurnool under the direct supervision of top health bureaucrats.
