35% of Aarogyasri funds to be given as incentives for docs, staff: Health Min

Hyderabad: Health Minister C Damodar Raja Narsimha on Friday announced providing 35 per cent of the Aarogyasri funds as incentives to the doctors and medical staff for providing treatment to the Aarogyasri patients.

The Health Minister on Friday chaired the board meeting of the Nizams Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), where the Director Dr N Beerappa presented the NIMS-2024 progress report to the Minister. The Minister congratulated the doctors and staff. The NIMS authorities sought 35 per cent of the money received by the NIMS from Aarogyasri should be given to the doctors and medical staff. He gave the green signal to the proposals in this regard at the NIMS Executive Board meeting held at the Secretariat on Friday.

Speaking on the occasion, Beerappa said that the number of outpatients in 2024 increased by 12.6 per cent compared to 2023. The number of patients admitted under Aarogyasri increased by 22.4 per cent. In 2024, 11,000 poor were treated at NIMS through the LOCs provided by the government. Beerappa said that only 5,800 people were treated under LOCs in 2023. He said that about 350 robotic surgeries were performed at NIMS last year.

Since the number of patients at NIMS was increasing, he requested the Minister to allow the recruitment of doctors and staff accordingly. The Minister gave permission to fill more than 800 posts. This includes all types of posts, including doctors and nurses. The Minister inquired about the construction work of new buildings at NIMS. Officials explained the progress of the construction work to the minister.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that the work should be completed as quickly as possible without compromising on quality. He advised the officials to come with all the details and that he would soon conduct a full review of the construction work. He said that people have a lot of faith in NIMS and that they come here from faraway places for treatment. The Minister congratulated the doctors and staff for providing better medical services while maintaining their trust. He suggested that even better services should be provided. He said that patients should be shifted from the emergency department to the relevant ward as soon as possible. He said that this would make it easier to provide beds to other patients who came in an emergency. He instructed that patients should not be kept in the ambulance for a long time and should be taken inside as soon as they arrive. The Minister warned that strict action will be taken against those who try to tarnish the reputation of NIMS through internal conflicts.