Why Andhra wants to Set Up New Medical Colleges Under PPP Model? Here's what State Health Minister said

Replying to questions in the Assembly on Wednesday, the minister revealed that 59% of assistant professor posts in the speciality wings of medical colleges across Andhra Pradesh are vacant despite repeated issuance of recruitment notifications.

On this, the minister also informed that the government is struggling to fill vacancies in the super speciality wing, where there are only 153 doctors of the assistant professor rank. Currently, the number of sanctioned posts is 369, while only 153 other doctors are working. Therefore, the government cannot run the medical colleges effectively without addressing these deficiencies, reports TOI.

Meanwhile, Mr Yadav criticised former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for making "misleading" claims about the level of vacancies in medical colleges. He also pointed out that Kadapa and Pulivendula medical colleges also face acute staff shortages.

Besides, the government also plans to adopt the PPP model to attract private sector expertise. Hence, the minister has urged private hospitals and corporate firms to collaborate with the government in starting new medical colleges. Besides, he also announced plans to strengthen community health centres (CHCs) and primary health centres (PHCs) to reduce the burden on teaching hospitals. He warned that ignoring tertiary care has led to excessive pressure on these institutions.

Further, the minister assured that the government is committed to completing the infrastructure for the new colleges by taking funds and loans from the Centre. However, he stressed that filling up the vacancies in the super speciality wing remains the main challenge.