CM Jaganmohan Reddy lays foundation for 14 new medical colleges in Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy laid the foundation for the construction of 14 medical colleges in the state. The colleges are slated to be completed in three years with an estimated cost of about Rs 8,000 crore.

The decision to set up 16 new medical colleges was taken last year in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Construction of two such colleges at Pulivendula and Paderu is already under way. Eleven medical colleges are operational in the state at present, CMO officials said.

Reddy said that the government would set up a 500-bed, multi-specialty hospital attached with each of these new medical colleges, with modern infrastructure and state-of-the-art facilities.

Speaking during the virtual event on Monday, the Chief Minister said that his government is committed towards developing public healthcare facilities, and is establishing a medical college with a super specialty hospital in every parliamentary constituency and also a nursing college affiliated to the medical colleges.

Reddy said that the state lacks superior medical infrastructure in the private sector like that in Hyderabad, Bangalore, and Chennai. “To fill the gap, our government has decided to hand over five-acre land free of cost to private hospitals ready to invest Rs 100 crore and start super-specialty hospitals in three years.”

CM Reddy has last week announced a plan to set up 16 health hubs across the state to accommodate the private health care facilities.

The CM also recalled his Nadu-Nedu initiative, intended to transform government medical institutions with an expenditure of about Rs 16,300 crore. “The formation of 10,111 YSR Village Clinics is underway, in addition to two PHCs in every mandal and 560 Urban Health Centres, 52 Area Hospitals and 190 CHCs across the state.”