Telangana: Air ambulance services in State soon

Hyderabad: The State government will soon start ‘air ambulance’ for medical emergencies across the State. Patients needing critical care will be airlifted to Hyderabad for better treatment, disclosed Health Minister T Harish Rao while releasing the progress report of the department at Ravindra Bharati on Monday.

Rao said, if there is some emergency in a remote area like Mulugu, the patient will be airlifted, brought to Hyderabad and treatment will be provided at NIMS with government funds.

The air ambulance will help in saving lives of patients by decreasing the travel time in case of an emergency. According to sources, this will be included in the ruling party’s manifesto to be brought out by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao.

The minister handed over appointment letters to 310 pharmacists who were selected in the competitive exams. Rao underscored the crucial role of pharmacists in ensuring availability and proper administration of medicines to patients, thereby enhancing the quality of healthcare services. He asked them to serve people with patience. ‘The more you have patience, the more you can serve the public,” said Rao.

He highlighted that over the last nine years a remarkable 22,600 posts were filled in the department, with ongoing efforts to appoint an additional 7,291 posts. He provided updates on the appointments, including completion of the staff nurse exam, expressing optimism that the KCR administration would have provided 30,000 jobs in the department within a decade.

Rao said Telangana evolved as a national healthcare role model, achieving accomplishments, that were previously unimaginable within just a decade. Listing the achievements, he said the State had made remarkable progress in healthcare, moving from 11th rank in the NITI Aayog health index in 2014 to third rank now. He attributed this success to the collective efforts of dedicated medical staff.

The minister highlighted the substantial budget allocation of Rs.12,364 crore and a per capita medical treatment expenditure of Rs. 3,532, positioning Telangana as the third-largest spender in the country. He pointed out that Telangana was well-prepared to address any health emergency with availability of 50,000 beds and a comprehensive network of healthcare facilities at village, urban, mandal, and constituency levels. He mentioned new projects, such as Warangal Health City and the expansion of NIMS, are underway to further bolster healthcare services.

The minister praised a team of NRI doctors from Britain led by Dr Arun for conducting free heart operations for children at NIMS. The second phase would be starting from Tuesday.