CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy inaugurates five medical colleges
VIZIANAGARAM: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday inaugurated five government medical colleges and asserted that they will help improve the public health system as well as tertiary and curative medicine.
While Jagan physically inaugurated the medical college in Vizianagaram, he virtually unveiled the four other institutes in Machilipatnam, Rajamahendravaram, Eluru and Nandyal.
Each of the five colleges, built at a cost of Rs 500 crore, has laboratories, interactive flat panels (IFPs), smart TVs, libraries, and microscopic and digital equipment. Admissions to the new colleges have been completed for the present year. The colleges have added 750 MBBS seats to the existing strength.
Addressing a gathering of students and faculty, the Chief Minister urged the medicos to work towards becoming good doctors and serving the poor. Further, he pointed out that the government has proposed to build 17 new medical colleges at a cost of Rs 8,480 crore to ensure that all 26 districts have one medical college and an attached hospital each so that specialised, tertiary and curative medical care can be accessible to everyone easily.
Of the total, five colleges at Pulivendula, Paderu, Adoni, Markapur and Madanapalle will begin functioning next year, and the construction of seven will be completed around the same time. Once all the new medical colleges and the attached hospitals begin functioning, the number of MBBS seats will increase to 4,735 from 2,185. Further, post-graduation seats will also go up to 2,737 from the existing 1,767.
Highlighting the government’s efforts in ensuring medical posts are filled, the Chief Minister said 53,126 vacancies in the medical and health department were filled over the past four years. He added that an average of only 3.96% of posts for specialist doctors were vacant in the State as against the national average of 61%.
He said the government has been upgrading infrastructure in 11 existing medical colleges at an estimated expenditure of Rs 3,280 crore under Nadu-Nedu. New nursing colleges are also being established, which will take the total seat count to 1,200, he noted.
“In line with the commitment to the welfare of weaker sections, our government has spent a whopping Rs 2,35,000 crore on DBT (direct benefit transfer) schemes so far. The doctors, too, should help the poor with the same commitment,” he exhorted the students.
Pointing out that his government has increased ailments and procedures covered under Aarogyasri to 3,255 from 1,000, Jagan explained that 10,032 fully-staffed and equipped village clinics were set up to strengthen preventive healthcare in the State. Family doctors at these clinics can conduct 14 types of diagnostic tests and maintain stocks of 105 types of medicines authorised by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Later, he toured the classrooms and laboratories and also inspected the facilities provided for the students at the college. Medicos from the five new colleges and students pursuing post-graduation in Guntur and Tirupati virtually interacted with the Chief Minister.
Addressing the gathering, Special Chief Secretary (medical and health) MT Krishna Babu said the admission fee for meritorious students is only Rs 10,000 in the new government colleges. He added that the government has spent Rs 4.5 crore to establish an e-library and hoped that the students will gain immense knowledge using the facility.
