Minister for Health D L Ravindra Reddy today spewed fire at Chief Minister N Kirankumar Reddy and the State administration.

“The entire system is collapsed in the recent past,” the Minister told mediapersons in Hyderabad. “It is not my intention to hit at someone or some leader. My only concern is that the system should not further collapse and throw the common man onto the roads,” he said in an oblique reference to the Chief Minister.

“I am pained to know that the ambulance that carried TDP senior leader Yerran Naidu did not have even an oxygen cylinder which speaks volumes about the woeful lack of basic facilities in the emergency services,” he thundered. Though 14 trauma care centers were sanctioned to be set up on different national highways in the State, no measures were initiated till now to establish even one such centre, he added.

D L Ravindra Reddy pointed out that the Chief Minister did not respond to his appeal to improve the basic medical facilities in the rural parts of the State. “I have made several appeals to the Chief Minister about the lack of such facilities in villages. But there is no response from him,” DL stated.

Though the Centre has released enough funds to improve the medical facilities in rural areas, the funds are being lapsed as the State Government failed to release the matching grant, the Minister for Health observed. He said that he had taken this issue to the notice of the Central Government. “During my meeting in New Delhi, Union Minister for Health Ghulam Nabi Azad has questioned me about this issue,” he stated.

The situation in the Health department is so bad that the Managing Director’s post in the department has not been filled yet. “There are no steps towards this direction,” he added.

Since the NEET issue is before the Supreme Court the Health Ministers conference did not discus the matter, he informed but refused to answer any more questions on the matter saying it is sub judice.

Prasad@Sakshipost