Local healthcare facilities and centres in districts across Telangana have improved to such an extent that travelling long distances or spending thousands for quality treatment is no more a necessity for people. They now have state-of-art medicare facilities right next door
Nizamabad
Banswada area hospital plans to have an ICU
Though there still are issues plaguing PHCs, Nizamabad residents are contented that the hospitals in the district have improved a lot. A local said, “Earlier people detested the conditions at hospitals. Worse, hospital authorities lacked the right attitude. However, things have improved now, and more and more people are visiting the PHCs.” Banswada area hospital have 100 beds and can even give stiff competition to a small-sized corporate hospital. In Banswada, thanks to KCR Kits scheme, there has been an increase number of institutional deliveries. More than 250 deliveries are taking place there every month. The hospital is now aiming to have an ICU. “If we have an ICU, the hospital will be able to provide services to all patients,” hospital superintendent Dr Srinivas Prasad said.
Adilabad
The PHC that received NQASC on several counts
The Echoda, Indervelli, Soan and Danthanpelli PHC has received National identity and got National Quality Assurance Standard Certificate (NQASC) in several parameters including institutional deliveries. Recently, DMHO Dr B Rajiv and his team received the certificate from Union minister of state for health Ashwin Kumar Choubey in New Delhi. Bheempur PHC was awarded certificate last year. 142 deliveries were performed at the Indervelli PHC between March and mid-July. The PHC is equipped with facilities on par with a corporate hospital and has eight beds. The staff treat pregnant women and, if they find critical cases, they refer those to RIMS Government Hospital and shift the patients in their own ambulances.
Sangareddy
Facilities are top notch but staff need to improve, allege patients
Though the condition of the PHCs in Sangareddy might be top of the line, and might have instilled confidence in patients, the employees don’t reflect the change in the infrastructure. Patients allege that hospital staff in the Sangareddy government hospital are very rude. Nagamani, a woman who recently delivered a baby at the hospital, said there was no change in the attitude of the staff there and they behaved rudely. She, however, said the hospital had improved a lot but the behaviour of the staff had not, and there was need for a change in their behaviour. Having said that, there have been many changes in the medical sector in the last three years like upgrading of hospitals. In the united Andhra state, the Telangana region had dialysis centres only in Khamman and at King Koti hospital in Hyderabad, but today the undivided Medak district has dialysis centres at Sangareddy, Siddipet, Zahirabad and Medak which offer the service free of cost. National Health Mission project officer Jagannadh Reddy said that in the past, the dialysis service was free for white ration card holders and for others it was came at a cost of `700 at King Koti hospital.
Mahbubnagar
Services improved by leaps & bounds in health min’s district
Under the present dispensation, facilities at PHC in Mahbubnagar district have improved by leaps and bounds. The bed strength has gone up from 100 to 250 and the centre has also acquired a new medical equipment and ICU facility. Besides these, an ultra-modern dialysis unit has also been established on the premises and it is serving eight patients, on an average, everyday. Earlier, patients had to travel to Hyderabad to avail the facility. Health minister Dr C Laxma Reddy, who hails from the district, has recently inaugurated Palliative Seva Kendra, IDSP Thalassemia Day Care Centre, ART Centre, Sakhi Kendram, Leprosy Service Centre and a centre for screening patients for cervical cancer. TS has also sanctioned a blood bank, a central laboratory and a CT scan machine for the district. KCR Kits scheme has also helped people. The beneficiaries are being given `12,000 if they beget a male child and `13,000 for female child.
Nalgonda
This ‘Best’ PHC is on par with private hospitals
Shaligouraram Primary Health Centre has been working on a par with private hospitals so much so that it stood first in the district in maintaining cleanliness under the Swachh Bharat scheme. In the last five months, about 140 common institutional deliveries and 2,000 family planning operations have been performed in the hospital. Apart from that, the PHC takes care of its sanitation, staff services and even manages the bio-medical waste. Patients from about 15 surrounding villages’ visit the PHC for treatment. The centre received the ‘Best PHC’ award in 2017, and Dr D.Venkanna was bestowed with the ‘Best Doctor’ award for two consecutive years in 2017 and 2018. Award winner Dr Venkanna told Express that the number of patients increased to 150 because of the improvement in the facilities and medical services at the primary health centre.
Text Inputs by: P Krishna, MVK Sastry, a Seshacharyulu, s Raja Reddy, K Amruth Rao