Telangana brings wellness centres under DME and NIMS for better medical services
Hyderabad: The Telangana government took a major step to reorganise wellness centres that offer cashless medical services to government employees, pensioners, and journalists. It transferred their control from the Aarogyasri Trust to the Directorate of Medical Education (DME) and Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS).
Senior Health Department officials confirmed that the new administrative system would begin on Monday. They said the decision aims to fix the long-pending shortage of specialist doctors and to strengthen overall medical services at these centres.
Telangana wellness centres are now under DME and NIMS
The government placed ten of the 12 wellness centres in Telangana under DME supervision and the remaining two under NIMS. Through Government Order No. 204, issued after a recommendation from the Aarogyasri Trust CEO, the Kairatabad and Kukatpally centres moved under NIMS control. Meanwhile, centres in Adilabad, Karimnagar, Khammam, Mahabubnagar, Nalgonda, Nizamabad, Sangareddy, Siddipet, Vanasthalipuram (Ranga Reddy), and Hanumakonda came under the DME.
At present, around 2,000 outpatients visit the wellness centres each day. However, officials expect the figure to rise to 3,000–4,000 once specialists join. Ideally, each centre should have 10 to 12 specialist doctors. Yet, because of low salaries, many doctors have shown little interest in joining. Consequently, several patients had to depend on NIMS Hyderabad for specialist care.
Government deploys medical college doctors to Telangana wellness centres
To overcome this shortage, the government decided to assign doctors from state medical colleges to wellness centres on rotation. This approach, officials explained, will allow the state to use teaching hospitals and their associated facilities more effectively. Moreover, it will help deliver specialist care closer to patients’ homes.
Under this system, patients can now consult doctors in cardiology, neurology, nephrology, and orthopaedics without travelling long distances. As a result, officials believe the initiative will reduce reliance on private hospitals for routine treatments. Each specialist will work from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. In addition, the Aarogyasri Trust will continue to oversee non-medical staff such as data entry operators and office assistants.
Budget and operations of Telangana wellness centres clarified
According to the government order, the Employee and Journalist Health Scheme (EJHS) will fund all operating costs of wellness centres. Furthermore, the Aarogyasri Trust will use administrative funds under existing health schemes to manage expenses related to equipment, medicines, and maintenance.
The Trust, however, will not shoulder the cost of salaries for newly deployed doctors. Instead, it will continue to focus on service delivery. Although this arrangement may increase medicine costs as outpatient numbers grow, officials said the spending remains manageable. Currently, the Trust spends about ₹18 crore each year on medicines for wellness centres.