Telangana: Sweeping changes in healthcare infra to effect improvements

Hyderabad: The health department is planning sweeping changes in multiple areas to improve government-run healthcare infrastructure.

According to sources, with a view to lowering the percentage of C-section deliveries, the government will provide a cash incentive of Rs 3,000 to healthcare staff facilitating every natural birth. It would remove the existing cash incentive on conducting C-sections.

Currently, about 64 per cent of the births in Telangana are C-sections, among the highest in the country.

The government would set up CCTV cameras at primary healthcare centres (PHCs) in consultation wards, labs and pharmacies to monitor the hospital staff. This was proposed after the government received reports of many patients being lured to private clinics by the staff within the PHCs.

Sources say the health department has also asked doctors not to prescribe branded medicine. These are often not available at many hospitals. Instead, the advice is to prescribe generic medicines. To improve the administration of government hospitals, separate posts may be created to oversee the administration part.

Infertility clinics were started at Gandhi Hospital recently. The government wants to open them at more hospitals in Hyderabad.

In hospitals attached to medical colleges, action would be taken on faculty against those who do not perform their duties.

To avoid delays in contractual works at medical facilities, the government has limited to five the number of blocks that each contractor can work on. In addition to this, superintendents of hospitals have been given freedom to spend from the budget to effect any other required changes.

The government also wants to improve sanitation at government hospitals, especially in light of the recent incident at MGM Hospital, Warangal, where rats bit an unconscious patient and caused him to bleed.