HYDERABAD: In a major push to strengthen public healthcare infrastructure, the state government is procuring 485 additional ventilators at a cost of Rs 58 crore for installation in government hospitals across Telangana by February. New MRI machines worth Rs 192 crore are also being procured for Niloufer Hospital in Hyderabad and hospitals in Mahbubnagar, Suryapet, Nizamabad, Nalgonda and Siddipet. Osmania General and Gandhi hospitals will receive additional MRI units to supplement existing facilities and manage heavy patient footfall. Eight new CT scanners, costing Rs 60 crore, are scheduled to be installed by March, Health Minister C Damodar Rajanarasimha said on Monday.
Raising the issue during Question Hour at the Assembly, CPI, BJP and AIMIM members sought details of patient amenities in government hospitals and urged the government to improve facilities at Osmania General, Gandhi and district hospitals to ensure better healthcare for the poor.
Responding, the minister said Gandhi Hospital, Osmania General Hospital, RIMS Adilabad and MGM Hospital, Warangal, currently have only one MRI machine each.
He said a Linear Accelerator (LINAC) machine costing Rs 32 crore was procured in 2025 for MNJ Hospital to provide radiation therapy for cancer patients.
Another LINAC machine worth Rs 32 crore and brachytherapy machines costing Rs 8 crore are under procurement for installation at the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) by March. Equipment worth Rs 18 crore for the neurosurgery department and 15 additional ventilators are also being procured to strengthen infrastructure at NIMS.
The minister said the procurement drive was being carried out in compliance with National Medical Council norms for tertiary hospitals. He disclosed that government hospitals across the state currently have 1,770 ventilators and 38,000 beds, with priority being given to the installation of essential equipment.
Rajanarasimha also announced that 73 new dialysis centres would be established, in addition to the existing 105, to ensure access to dialysis within a 25-km radius. He added that the expansion of ambulance services over the past two years had reduced emergency response time from 15 minutes to 11 minutes, and further procurement would bring it below 10 minutes.
At a glance
Rs 58 crore budget: Ventilators will be procured at a cost of Rs 58 crore and installed in government hospitals across Telangana by February
MRI expansion worth Rs 192 crore: New MRI machines for Niloufer Hospital and hospitals in Mahbubnagar, Suryapet, Nizamabad, Nalgonda and Siddipet; additional MRIs for Osmania General and Gandhi hospitals
Advanced cancer care boost: LINAC machine worth Rs 32 crore already installed at MNJ Hospital; one more LINAC (Rs 32 crore) and brachytherapy machines (Rs 8 crore) to be installed at NIMS by March
Dialysis access improved: 73 new dialysis centres to be set up, taking the total to 178, ensuring facilities to all within a 25-km radius
Emergency response improved: Ambulance response time reduced from 15 minutes to 11 minutes in two years; more ambulances planned to bring it below 10 minutes