Health services to 20 crore workers in four years: Dattatreya; Alai Balai tomorrow

The Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) is planning to upgrade its dispensaries into six-bedded hospitals in a phased manner.

Addressing the media here today, Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said the 500 dispensaries will be upgraded in the first phase. ESIC has already upgraded 150 hospitals into 100 bedded hospitals and facilities like appointment of doctors, minor operations, X-Rays and scanning facilities would be provided, he said. The ESIC was planning to extend its health services to 20 crore workers in organised as well as unorganised sector within 3 to 4 years.

At present, the corporation is providing health services to eight crore organised workers. He said that a 700 bedded super specialty hospital at Sanathnagar, Hyderabad will be constructed. Building construction workers, beedi workers, Auto Drivers/Riksha workers, Aasha workers, Anganwadi workers, Mid-Day meal cooking workers will be provided health services under social security scheme, the Minister said. The ESIC is running medical colleges in Faridabad, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Gulbarga and Hyderabad. Dattatreya said that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been made with the state governments of Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Bihar and ESIC for establishing medical colleges in the states. Health services like Tele-medicine, e-learning and digital library facilities would be provided in the Medical Colleges, the Minister added.

      Dattatreya requested Chief Minister K Chandrasekara Rao to allot government land for the 59 dispensaries, which are running in private buildings, Then only they will be converted into 6 bedded hospitals. He also requested the Chief Minister to allot land in Goshamahal and Old City to construct 100 bedded hospitals.

         Bandaru Dattattreya said the annual Alai-Balai program will be organised at Exhibition grounds on Wednesday. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana States Governor, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Union Ministers M.Venkaiah Naidu, Anantha Kumar, Sujana Chowdhary, Nirmala Sitaraman, Members of Parliament and leaders of all political parties, artists, advocates, doctors will be attending the program, he said. (NSS)