Andhra Pradesh: Buses for govt medical colleges students to improve healthcare in Telangana

Hyderabad: In an attempt to better healthcare facilities in Telangana, the Telangana Health and Medical Minister, C Laxma Reddy, on Monday announced that students of both the medical and dental streams would be provided with buses, mobile vans and dental vans for patients residing in rural areas.

Speaking at the foundation laying ceremony at the institute of Mental Health Erragada, the Minister said medical colleges would be receiving 20 buses for transportation. 9 of the 20 were given away to college principals on Monday.

"A facility like this is being introduced in the state after a gap of 30 years. The vehicles will be very useful for medical students as they will get a chance to go to rural areas and treat people. Apart from treating the poor, medical students will also get a fair idea about what's happening at the ground level," the Minister said.

After Telangana coming into existence and improved medical facilities being provided, people have now changed their opinion about government hospitals, the Minister communicated.

Mr. Reddy said that quality treatment was being rendered to the poor with the government hospitals being brought at power with their corporate counterparts.

"With the help of the preventive medicine department, we want to aware villagers about various diseases, precautionary measures to be taken and the treatment. For this purpose too, we are going to use these 20 buses," said Mr Reddy, as reported by the TOI .

The health minister assuring good services at government hospitals said steps would be taken to strengthen healthcare facilities at government facilities and urged doctors to put in their best and strengthen the hands of the government in its endevour.

P Krishnamurthy, Chairman, Telangana State Medical Services Infrastructure Development Corporation, MLA Ramulu Nayak and others participated in the ceremony along with the health minister.

The Erragada Mental Hospital will have a new infrastructural addition in the form of state-of-the-art center of excellence building. The government has allocated a budget of Rs. 18 crore for the purpose. Established during the Nizam's reign , the 600 bedded hospital is one of the oldest and serves the mentally ill from all over the state.