KCR inaugurates 9 medical colleges; lists state’s accolades in health sector

Hyderabad: Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao virtually inaugurated nine medical colleges in various districts on Friday, as part of the government’s aim of opening at least one medical institution in every district of the state.

The nine new medical colleges are located in the districts of Kamareddy, Karimnagar, Khammam, Kumram Bheem Asifabad, Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Jangaon, Nirmal, Rajanna Sircilla and Vikarabad.

During the inauguration, the CM KCR said that Telangana is the only state in the entire country, where the state Cabinet had approved setting up 34 medical colleges.

“The number of medical colleges in the state is now 26 and eight more colleges are set to be opened by the beginning of the next academic year, taking the total to 34 (including government and private colleges). Thus, this will ensure that every district will have a medical college,” KCR said.

Number of MBBS seats across Telangana at 8,515

“In 2014, when Telangana was formed, there were only 2,850 medical seats and now the number of seats has risen to 8,515. Telangana is the only state in the country with 22 MBBS seats per one lakh population. Telangana will produce 10,000 doctors every year,” the CM added.

The chief minister said that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has cautioned against viruses like Covid-19, which can re-emerge in the future. Therefore, a robust health system is required in any state or country to face such threats from pathogens effectively, he said.

‘Hospital facilities increased since state formation’

The chief minister also pointed to the various achievements of the state’s health sector.

In 2014, the state had only 17,000 hospital beds, which has now doubled to 34,000. That number would soon reach 50,000, and all 50,000 beds in hospitals would soon have oxygen facilities and added that Telangana is now producing 500 tonnes of oxygen to meet any critical situation. Telangana stood at eleventh in 2014 in the rankings given by the NITI Aayog in health-related indicators and now the state ranks third.

The chief minister also said that he has directed state health minister T Harish Rao to establish nursing colleges and institutions to train paramedical personnel, alongside establishing medical colleges in every district.

Infant mortality declined in state

Rao also spoke about the state government’s welfare schemes in the health sector. Pointing to the problem of stunted growth in children, he highlighted the need for good nutrition for pregnant mothers and children. He said that the KCR Kit and nutrition kit are being given to pregnant women, who are also encouraged to opt for institutional deliveries. “In fact, the institution (birth in hospitals) deliveries have gone up from 30 per cent to 76 per cent. He also pointed out that there has been a decline in Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) and Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) in the state.