Taking a major healthcare measure towards addressing the chronic kidney disease that prevails in Uddanam region of Srikakulam district, the Andhra Pradesh government on Tuesday sanctioned a Super Specialty Hospital with a Kidney Research Centre and Dialysis Unit at Palasa.
The in-principle sanction has been given for a 200-bedded hospital, which is estimated to cost around Rs 50 crore.
The upcoming hospital will have a Medical Superintendent, one Chief Superintendent, a Resident Medical Officer (RMO) and one Administrative Officer position and two Senior Assistant positions.
Under contractual services, the hospital will accommodate two urologists, a vascular surgeon along with specialist doctors which will include general physicians, a neurosurgeon, anaesthetist, radiologist, pathologist, microbiologist, biochemist, nutritionist and 12 general duty medical officers along with 60 staff nurses.
The research centre will have two project managers and two research scientists along with two senior research fellows and two junior research fellows.
On outsourcing basis, the hospital will accommodate as many as 60 members of staff that include lab technicians with specialisations and social workers, supporting staff, security guards and ambulance drivers.
The GO issued on Tuesday by Principal Secretary KS Jawahar Reddy said that the hospital was sanctioned following circumstances on the ground, which were reported by Commissioner of the AP Vaidya Vidhana Parishad.
Uddanam Nephropathy is a chronic kidney disease in Srikakulam district, which has affected people in the mandals of Kaviti, Sompeta, Kanchili, Itchapuram, Palasa and Vajrapukotturu over the last two decades, with no cure in sight.
Thousands of people in the region have been affected by the disease, with both young and old, succumbing to the mysterious condition.
The World Health Organization has also listed Uddanam as one of the three regions in the world with the highest concentration of chronic kidney disease, after Sri Lanka and Nicaragua.
With no cure, victims often just resign to their fate, waiting for eventual death. While authorities have set up several dialysis centres, locals and activists have said that addressing the issue will require conducting detailed studies to ascertain the cause and cure of the condition.
