AP to Get 14 New Medical Colleges Soon

AMARAVATI: To provide advanced medi-care and better healthcare services for future generations, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will be laying the foundation stone for the establishment of 14 new medical colleges across the State here on Monday. 

While 16 medical colleges are being set up in each Parliamentary constituency, the foundation stone has already been laid for the Pulivendula and Paderu medical colleges in YSR Kadapa and Srikakulam districts respectively. The foundation stone will be laid for the remaining 14 medical colleges on Monday. During the reign of late Dr YS Rajasekhar Reddy, four medical colleges were established across the state in 2008. This is the first time that a CM has taken the revolutionary decision of setting up a medical college in each constituency which was earlier never done before by any government. With this decision, the state has got 16 new medical colleges whose estimated cost for construction will be up to Rs 7,880 Crore.

The establishment of medical colleges has never been done earlier by the previous government on such a large scale. So far no state has set up so many medical colleges at once. The AP Government is working towards completing the construction of these medical colleges by the year  2023.

Ramping up the medical infrastructure in State, the government proposed to set up 16 new medical colleges  where only 11 colleges are functioning at present. The construction work has already started in two medical colleges at Paderu and Pulivendula.  With the establishment of new colleges, the number of medical seats is going to increase significantly and more seats will be available for poor students by filling 70 percent in convenor quota and 30 percent in payment quota. 

The 16 new medical colleges are being established at Paderu, Vizianagaram, Anakapalli, Rajahmundry, Palakollu, Amalapuram, Eluru, Machilipatnam, Bapatla, Markapuram, Piduguralla, Madanapalli, Pulivendula, Penukonda, Adoni and Nandyal. So far, the state government has issued orders for the construction of multi-speciality hospitals in tribal areas at Seethampeta, Parvathipuram, Rampachodavaram, Buttayigudem and Dornala, where an extent of 885 acres of land was procured for medical colleges and multi-speciality hospitals. 

In regard to medical education, Vizianagaram, Anakapalli, Rajahmundry, Eluru, Machilipatnam will be having 150 seats each remaining colleges with 100 admissions each, with a total of around 2000 admissions. Also, works are under progress for Paderu, Piduguralla, Pulivendula medical colleges construction and tenders are being evaluated for Vizianagaram, Anakapalli, Amalapuram, Rajahmundry, Eluru, Palakollu, Bapatla, Markapuram, Madanapalli, Penukonda,  Nandyal and Adoni.

All these medical colleges and teaching hospitals will be offering emergency, casualty and diagnostic services, with advanced Intensive care units, and 10 state of the art Modular Operation Theatres. The current focus of the government is to develop a model welfare state with access to innovative and advanced technology.

Besides these, Nadu Nedu initiative is one such programme taken up by the State government with a vision to prioritise the modernisation of the Health Sector, which aims to revamp the existing health infrastructure and put in place a robust decentralized tertiary public healthcare infrastructure and facilities to provide accessible and affordable tertiary healthcare to the people of Andhra Pradesh. Under this initiative, all the existing health facilities will be upgraded as per IPHS Standards for Sub-centers, PHCs, CHCs, AHs and NMC norms for Teaching Hospitals.

Also Read: 2 Years Of YS Jagan Rule In AP: Vast Changes In Medical, Education Sector