Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President and Nalgonda MP Capt. N. Uttam Kumar Reddy held the negligence of Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao responsible for the deteriorating condition of Osmania General Hospital.
Accompanied with senior Congress leaders including Hyderabad City Congress president M. Anjan Kumar Yadav, Feroz Khan, Mohammed Ghouse, Adam Santosh and others, Uttam Kumar Reddy visited the OGH and inspected the wards which were sub-merged due to rain water on Wednesday. He also inspected the stormwater drain from where rainwater entered the hospital. He also had a detailed interaction with the Incharge Superintendent, the Resident Medical Officer and patients.
On the arrival of Congress leaders, some patients approached them with specific complaints and alleged that they were made to run from one hospital to another for treatment. Uttam Kumar Reddy later requested the Superintendent Incharge to attend to those complaints.
Speaking to media persons later, Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the storm water entering the wards housing in-patients reflects on the poor functioning of CM KCR and his government and the Chief Minister must be ashamed of himself. He said Osmania Hospital was the most prestigious and well-known government hospital not just in Telangana, but in the combined Andhra Pradesh and also in part of Maharashtra and Karnataka. But the hospital, under KCR’s regime, has reached a stage where minor rains sub-merged the functional wards causing huge inconvenience to the patients admitted there. He said that the submergence of OGH wards, especially during the time of Corona pandemic, reflects the attitude of KCR’s Government towards public health.
The TPCC chief said that the Incharge Superintendent told the Congress leaders that nearly 150 doctors, including full-time Superintendent, were tested positive for Covid-19. “This reflects on the quality and untimely delivery of PPE kits given to doctors,” he said.
Uttam Kumar Reddy demanded that the present heritage building of OGH must be protected and strengthened in the way other heritage buildings are protected throughout the world. He said that the State Government must spend whatever needs to be spent to protect the heritage building. Further, he said that the estimates and blueprints for the construction of a new building in the same OGH complex at a cost of Rs. 500 crore has been pending for approval since 2017. While giving financial approval for a new building, he said that the State Government must ensure that the heritage structure of OGH remains intact and strengthened further.
The TPCC Chief also demanded that the OGH be strengthened with upgradation in facilities in terms of oxygen lines, ventilators and other modern equipment. “OGH gets nearly 2,000 Out Patients and performs over 60, 000 surgeries per year. This is the largest hospital for trauma patients throughout the State. All steps must be taken to convert its infrastructure into of global standards,” he demanded adding that when KCR Government could borrow over Rs. three lakh crore while mortgaging the interest of four crore people of Telangana for wasteful expenditure, why could CM KCR not sanction Rs. 500 crore for the OGH?”
He demanded that the Chief Minister drop the “non-sense idea” of the demolition of Secretariat and start constructing a new building for OGH while protecting the heritage structure.
Quoting hospital authorities, Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the OGH was presently conducting 100 Covid-19 tests per day and could accommodate 100 Coronavirus patients. He demanded that the testing rate be scaled up and Covid beds in the OGH be increased adequately, as per requirement.
Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the ten per cent salary incentive being given by the State Government for doctors, nurses, health, sanitation and other staff for their services during Covid-19 pandemic was not adequate. He said only 10 per centincentive was a pittance for someone who is working round the clock while putting his/her life at risk. Therefore, he demanded that the incentive must be increased to 50 per cent of salary for all the frontline warriors engaged in combat against Coronavirus.
The TPCC Chief reiterated the demand for including of COVID-19 treatment through the Aarogyasri Scheme. He also demanded that high-quality PPE kits of global standard be provided to all the frontline warriors including doctors, paramedics, sanitation workers, cleaning staff, journalists and police personnel. He said that all government hospitals should be upgraded with ventilators and oxygen lines on war footing basis.
Uttam Kumar Reddy demanded that the State Government pay ex-gratia of Rs. 50 lakh for all the frontline warriors including doctors, para-medical staff, health workers, sanitation workers, municipal and Panchayati workers, journalists and police personnel if they succumb due to corona. He also reiterated the demand for payment of Rs. 10 lakh ex-gratia to all the BPL families who lost their bread earners due to Coronavirus.