HYDERABAD: Health Minister T Harish Rao inaugurated a program management unit on the Telangana State Medical Services and Infrastructure Development Corporation (TSMSIDC) premises here on Saturday. The unit will ensure the upkeep and repairs of all equipment in government hospitals.
Speaking to the media, Harish admitted that the hospitals face a shortage of technicians to maintain the equipment. “To avoid any inconvenience to the patients, the hospital staff can call helpline number 8888526666 to request repairing equipment and machinery. The unit will forward the complaint to the related service provider and ensure that the technician reaches the Hospital within hours.
The Minister also announced that Rs 100 crore, out of the Rs 500 crore allocated for purchasing medicines, will be distributed among the superintendents of government hospitals for direct purchase of medicines in case of emergency.
Medicine portals launched
The Minister also launched two new online portals — e-Aushadhi and e-Upkaran — to manage medicines and surgery equipment. The list of essential medicines provided by the government includes 843 medicines. Unlike earlier, the government will now provide the medicines as per the demand.The hospitals have been asked to maintain a minimum of 3 months of stock through the two portals. The Minister said that pharmacists had been trained to use these new portals.
Number of C-section deliveries reduced
The Minister said, with the efforts of the State Health Department, the number of C-section deliveries in government hospitals has reduced from 47.24 per cent to 45.92 per cent and from 80.98 per cent to 78.86 per cent in private facilities. He said 1.5 lakh pregnant women benefited from the Antenatal nutrition kit provided in 9 anemia-affected districts. He added that 13.3 lakh women benefited from the post-delivery KCR kits.
'Centre failed to provide required covid doses'
Stating that the Central government failed to provide required doses of Covid-19 vaccine, Health Minister T Harish Rao revealed that the State has received only 5-10 lakh doses of Covishield and 2-3 lakh doses of CorBEvax vaccine as against the demand of 50 lakh doses. The State government had sent a letter to the Centre on Tuesday requesting 50 lakh doses of Covishield to take up a massive drive for administration of the third precautionary doses. The Minister said that there was little response from the Centre. The State had specifically asked for Covishield doses as most of the people have been inoculated with two doses of it. He said that the Centre sent CorBEvax as it can be used for the third dose even if the person has taken two doses of Covishield or Covaxin.