In a major move, the Andhra Pradesh government on Wednesday said that it was considering enforcing a ban on private practice of government doctors across the state.
The announcement came after an expert committee submitted a report to Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on health reforms in the state. The committee was led by Dr Sujatha Rao, a former Union Secretary of Health under the Government of India and made 100 recommendations, according to the CMO.
During a review meeting at his camp office in Tadepalli in Amaravati on Wednesday, the Chief Minister had a lengthy discussion with the experts’ committee and officials on the contents of the report.
Besides the ban on private practice, the report also suggested that the salary of government doctors be increased. However, further details on the matter are yet to be revealed.
"The Chief Minister told officials to formulate guidelines for the same. He directed officials to release a notification for the recruitment of government doctors vacancies. The CM asked the expert committee to formulate policies to ensure that theoretical knowledge is applied to practical problems," a press note from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) stated.
Jagan also said that a new 'Aarogyasri' healthcare scheme will be implemented in 150 super speciality hospitals in Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai from November 1.
The scheme, which was introduced by Jagan's father and former CM Y S Rajasekhar Reddy in united Andhra Pradesh, allows individuals below the poverty line (BPL) to access healthcare at private and government hospitals, for which the cost is borne by the state exchequer.
Jagan told officials that the government would start a pilot project in West Godavari district to cover 2,000 treatments under the scheme. A total of 1200 treatments are covered under the scheme in the remaining districts.
"The government, after including more aliments would formulate guidelines for the new Aarogyasri scheme which will be implemented from April 1, 2020 in all the districts," the CMO statement said.
The Chief Minister said that nursing colleges should be monitored in the same manner as medical colleges and also told officials to evolve an effective mechanism to maintain emergency '104' and '108' vehicles in the state.
Jagan also announced an allowance of Rs 5000 to patients while they are on rest after undergoing surgery. He directed officials to prepare guidelines to give Rs 5,000 to patients who have been suffering from chronic diseases.