Vijayawada: Chairing a review meeting on the Medical and Health Department at the State Secretariat, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu underlined the importance of expanding healthcare services across the state.

He instructed the officials to initiate steps Healthcare Expansion, Mega Global Medicity, Public-Private Partnership, Multi-Specialty Hospitals, Virtual Healthcare, Preventive Healthcarefor setting up a Mega Global Medicity project in Amaravati, envisioning it as a global hub for medical services that attracts patients from across the world.

Naidu has directed the Medical and Health Department to formulate an action plan to ensure that every Assembly segment in the state is equipped with a 100 to 300-bedded multi-specialty hospital.

Of the 175 Assembly segments, 70 already have hospitals with a capacity of 100 beds or more. The Chief Minister emphasised the need to immediately begin construction of multi-specialty hospitals in the remaining 105 constituencies. He also suggested that these hospitals could be developed under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, with a policy framed to offer subsidies to organizations willing to participate, similar to incentives offered in the industrial sector.

Stating that education and healthcare are top priorities, Naidu proposed seeking support from the Gates Foundation to strengthen health services. He also highlighted the need for virtual healthcare facilities, especially in cases where doctors are unavailable at Public Health Centres (PHCs) and Community Health Centres (CHCs), to ensure continued access to basic health services.

The Chief Minister stressed the importance of preventive healthcare, urging officials to raise awareness among the public about adopting healthy lifestyles and taking proactive health measures.

He believes that by changing dietary habits and lifestyle, major ailments like hypertension and diabetes can be effectively prevented.

Additionally, Naidu announced plans to bolster the existing 25 drug de-addiction centres with an allocation of Rs 32.5 crore and set up 13 more such centres across the state. He also instructed officials to fill doctor vacancies in PHCs located in tribal areas and to establish eight new dialysis centres in Vizianagaram. Further, the number of dialysis machines will be increased in NTR, Vizianagaram, and Bapatla districts, and the Kovvur-Nidadavolu CHC will be upgraded.

The Chief Minister also reviewed the progress of the Digital Nerve Centre, a unique healthcare initiative developed by Tata Consultancy Services and currently being implemented in Kuppam. The programme aims to deliver efficient healthcare services through a digital platform.