Government hospitals improve services as patient footfall rises: Damodar Rajanarasimha
Hyderabad: Health Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha said government hospitals in Telangana had significantly improved their performance, leading to a steady rise in patient footfall. He also said private hospital owners had reported a decline in the number of patients visiting their facilities.
The minister said more doctors were showing interest in joining government hospitals. He added that the recent recruitment drive for doctors reflected the growing confidence in the public healthcare system.
He made the remarks during a review meeting with superintendents of Government General Hospitals, Area Hospitals and all government hospitals with 100 beds or more at the Indian Institute of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday.
Principal Secretary Christina Z. Chongthu, TGMSIDC Managing Director Gaurav Uppal, Director of Medical Education Narendra Kumar, Aarogyasri CEO Hanumanthu, Director of Public Health Ravinder Naik, Indian Institute of Health and Family Welfare Chairperson Dr. Kavitha and senior officials attended the meeting.
Government hospitals receive continued government support
Damodar Rajanarasimha congratulated hospital superintendents for improving the performance of government hospitals. According to him, they played a key role in strengthening public healthcare services.
He said the government, doctors, health officials and staff shared the responsibility of protecting the trust patients had placed in public hospitals. Moreover, he assured officials that the government was ready to provide all facilities needed to deliver timely and quality healthcare.
The minister recalled that the government had filled around 14,000 posts during the past two-and-a-half years. In addition, it recruited doctors, nurses, laboratory technicians and paramedical staff. He said recruitment would continue wherever vacancies remained.
He also said the government was constructing new hospital buildings to replace rented, old and congested facilities. Furthermore, it was supplying all essential medicines and surgical equipment.
Government hospitals to face regular performance reviews
The minister told superintendents not to offer excuses for deficiencies in service quality because the government had provided the required resources. Therefore, he asked them to immediately report any requirement to district authorities, Collectors, Heads of Department or the minister.
He instructed every superintendent to take complete responsibility for the hospital under their charge. He also asked them to ensure that patients did not face difficulties from admission until discharge.
The minister directed superintendents to visit wards every day, interact with patients and resolve their grievances without delay. Meanwhile, he instructed them to pay special attention to cleanliness, drinking water, toilets, food quality, security and sanitation.
Damodar Rajanarasimha warned that the department would not tolerate negligence, unnecessary absenteeism, delays in treatment or making patients wait for long periods. He also instructed officials to ensure round-the-clock monitoring of emergency departments, intensive care units, maternity wards, operation theatres, dialysis units, laboratories, blood banks and radiology services.
He directed hospitals to begin treatment immediately for critically ill patients without delay. Additionally, he asked officials to keep modern medical equipment operational, repair faulty machines promptly and report shortages of medicines, equipment or infrastructure to senior authorities.
The minister said the department would regularly review the performance of government hospitals through a new dashboard. Finally, he said the government would assess hospitals based on outpatient and inpatient services, surgeries, emergency care, maternal and child health services, patient satisfaction, cleanliness and service quality. He added that the government would reward outstanding performers and take action against those who showed negligence.