Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has directed the health department officials to identify the vacancies of nurses, doctors, and para-medical staff posts in public facilities from village clinics to medical college hospitals across the state, so that the Medical Recruitment Board can fill them up. Addressing a review meeting of the Health Department, the Chief Minister also instructed officials to stock sufficient supplies of medicines and to maintain basic facilities at all government hospitals.
The chief minister instructed the officials to intimate the available dates of visiting family doctors to people in advance through ASHA workers and ANMs so that villagers would be able to meet them under the ‘Family Doctor’ programme. He also asked the district officers to supervise this programme for effective implementation.
Officials informed the Chief Minister that 2,100 more seats were being added for medical education in addition to the 2,185 currently available in medical colleges. The medical colleges at Vizianagaram, Rajahmundry, Eluru, Machilipatnam, and Nandyala have already added up to 750 seats in the current year, where classes are about to commence, and an additional 350 seats would be made available in the 2024–2025 academic year.
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The remaining 1,000 seats will be made available in the next academic year at Piduguralla, Bapatla, Penukonda, Madanapalle, Palakollu, Markapuram, Narsipatnam, Amalapuram, and Parvathipuram medical colleges, the officials told the CM.
They also informed the CM that the COVID pandemic was fully under control in the state and that only 24 people were being treated in hospitals now. Andhra Pradesh stands at 23rd spot in the table when it comes to the spread of new variants, the officials informed the CM, adding that RTPCR tests were being conducted based on the necessity to curb the spread of the virus, including in Vijayawada and other cities.