Vijayawada, Sep 12: Union Health Minister JP Nadda and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday inaugurated 10 critical care blocks and 12 Integrated Public Health Laboratories (IPHLs) across the state set up at a cost of Rs 249 crore.
The critical care blocks have a combined capacity of 500 beds and are equipped with advanced operation theatres and facilities for ultra sound, cardiology, nephrology and neurosurgery.
“It is the strengthening of the architecture of infrastructure of the health systems…We have inaugurated IPHLs at 12 places and critical care blocks at 10 places,” said Nadda, addressing a meeting in Vijayawada, following the inaugurations.
Recalling the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, he said the Centre under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi realised the need to strengthen our health systems and infrastructure.
“The pandemic was converted into an opportunity,” Nadda said, adding that ‘Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat’ health infrastructure mission was launched in 2021.
The government decided to spend Rs 64,180 crore in the next five years to strengthen health infrastructure, he said.
According to Nadda, the objective was to effectively prepare the healthcare system to respond effectively to pandemics and disasters.
More than Rs 1,271 crore was allocated for Andhra Pradesh for 23 critical blocks, 26 IPHLs and 45 Ayushman Arogya Urban Mandirs and countless Ayushman Arogya Mandirs in the southern state.
The critical care block was designed to provide dedicated critical care capacity, emergency services, ICUs, isolation wards, major and minor operation theatres and child care facilities, he added.
Reacting to Naidu’s request to accord national recognition to ‘Amaravati Quantum Bio Valley’, Nadda assured the Centre’s cooperation.
Appreciating Naidu’s vision for Amaravati Quantum Bio Valley, he said a technical team will be sent to the greenfield capital to deliberate on it.
Meanwhile, Naidu said the NDA government at the Centre ushered in several reforms in healthcare and also supplied Covid-19 vaccines to the world.
“51,000 medical seats were more than doubled and the Mangalagiri AIIMS is being developed excellently,” said Naidu.
The CM said the Sanjeevani Project, a health record digitization programme, will be launched across the state soon and called it a gamechanger.
On the greenfield capital city of Amaravati, Naidu said people in Ladakh are discussing it and claimed it had gained recognition in all places.
Earlier, Nadda and Naidu together inaugurated a critical care block and IPHLs at the old government hospital in Vijayawada.
Later, Nadda and Naidu visited the newly inaugurated facilities, where officials briefed them on the features. (PTI)
