Healthcare at Doorstep: Andhra Pradesh CM launches Family Doctor Programme

AMARAVATI: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday formally launched the Family Doctor Programme aimed at taking healthcare to the doorstep of the people.

Under the programme, qualified doctors in 10, 032 Dr YSR Village Health Clinics would extend preventive healthcare to the needy across the state. 

Launching the programme at Lingamguntla in Palnadu district, the Chief Minister told a public meeting that the programme would herald revolutionary changes in extending healthcare to the needy.

Besides visiting the bed-ridden people and treating them, family doctors would extend free medical treatment to people suffering from both communicable and non-communicable diseases and to lactating mothers and anaemic school children and women, he said.

They would refer the patients in need of advanced medical treatment to Aarogyasri Network Hospitals while YSR Health Clinics would extend post-treatment health care to such patients.

He claimed that the government has brought about revolutionary changes in healthcare as it highly values the lives of people. With one Primary Health Centre (PHC) serving every 2500 people, the programme would soon turn the State into a role model for other states in preventive healthcare, he said.

Each mandal would consist of two PHCs while each PHC would comprise two doctors with one of them taking care of the out-patients and the other visiting YSR Health Clinics in assigned villages, schools and anganwadi centres twice a month, he said, adding they would identify people suffering from BP, sugar and anaemic conditions and provide them treatment in the initial stages preventing serious heart and other diseases among them.

YSR Village Health Clinics, to be manned by Community Health Officers (CHOs), ANMs (Auxiliary Nurse and Midwives) and ASHA (Accredited Social Health Assistant) workers, would be equipped with 105 kinds of medicines, lab facilities to conduct 14 kinds of diagnostic tests andA 936 Mobile Medical Units (104).

The phone numbers and other details of the doctors would be displayed at the Village Secretariats which would maintain health records and ensure that the medical services would be available round the clock, he said, appealing to the medical staff to stay in the villages where they are employed and serve the people 24x7.

Asking the people to assess the good deeds of the government, he called upon them to become the soldiers of the YSRCP and teach a fitting lesson to the political wolves who are coming together for electoral gains.

The Chief Minister asked the people to see the difference between the TDP and YSRCP rules in health, educational and other sectors.

Elaborating further that the medical procedures under the YSR Aarogyasri went up to 3, 255 from 1, 000 in TDP rule which avoided payment of Rs 800 crore to hospitals, he said the government has been spending over Rs 18, 000 crore every year on medical and health sector against the meagre Rs 8, 000 crore spent during the TDP rule.

While the number of network hospitals under YSR Aarogyasri went up to 2261 from 914 in TDP rule, 3, 57, 1596 people were benefitted under the scheme in the last 45 months, he said, adding that the government has so far spent Rs 9000 crores under Aarogyasri and Rs. 990 crores under Aarogya Aasara alone making it an average of Rs 3300 crore annually.

The government has so far created 48, 639 jobs in medical and health field alone filling up 100 percent vacancies of lab technicians, general physicians and staff nurses and 96.31 percent vacancies of specialist doctors besides constructing 17 new medical colleges and keeping stocks of 562 sorts of WHO standard medicines in government hospitals.

Making it clear that he does not know the political gimmicks of TDP which followed the policy of plunder, stash and devour and which only worked for the scams, he said that people are his only strength and he is working with the blessings of people and God.

Jagan Mohan Reddy said that while the TDP chief and his foster son are forging alliances for electoral gains with the support of "friendly media", he is only depending on his alliance with the people.

He said the government has so far distributed to the people Rs 2, 05, 108 crores under various welfare schemes bringing happiness to every doorstep across the state.