HYDERABAD: Complaint boxes will be installed at all Government hospitals to make the medicare system more accountable to people.

The Government has also decided to conduct "clinical classes" on Mondays in hospitals to educate patients on the steps to be taken at the individual level to tackle serious ailments. The complaint boxes will be opened in these classes and grievances settled.

Announcing this at a press conference here on Thursday, Vaidya Vidhana Parishad (VVP) & Hospital Services Minister V. Venkateswara Rao said a toll-free phone would be arranged at the VVP headquarters here so that the public could lodge a complaint if a doctor is absent in a hospital.

Mr Rao said his policy was not to suspend or dismiss staff but appeal to them, reminding them of their basic duty to serve ailing people. Nearly three crore people approached government hospitals annually for medicare.

Better services

He promised improved services soon when the total bed strength under the purview of the VVP would reach 25,000.

The beds available in district, taluk and mandal headquarters hospitals numbered only 16,124 but the figure would go up once all the 30-bed hospitals were brought under the control of VVP as proposed.

He asked hospitals to keep stocks of life-saving drugs with them, especially those meant for treating snake and dog-bites, reminding them of the huge budget of Rs 32 crores provided for the purpose.

The Minister said a minimum five-year service would be made mandatory hereafter for a doctor once posted at a place. Government hospitals faced a shortage of 1,000 doctors annually. Adding to this, 600 of the 1,000 fresh MBBS graduates were opting for PG courses.

He said about 1,000 doctors would be recruited shortly along with 400 specialists.

He said trauma care centres were being set up close to National Highways at Nellore, Eluru, Srikakulam and Rajahmundry, each at a cost of Rs 1.5 crore.

CT scanners

Meanwhile, the Government is of the firm view that the CT scanners it had provided to 12 of its big hospitals in the State, can ensure best service only if they are in private hands.

The places where these hospitals are located are Nandyal, Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar, Khammam, Ongole, Adilabad, Karimnagar, Sangareddy, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Eluru and Tandur. After purchasing them at a huge cost, the Government handed over the scanners to contractors for operation and maintenance for a price.

Justifying this at a press conference here, Mr Venkatreswara Rao reasoned that the State, as a whole, suffered from a shortage of radiologists.

With radiology being a superspeciality, few candidates came out from medical colleges annually.

As there was no other alternative, the Government had "privatised" them.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail