The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to provide mobile phones to over 7,000 health workers functioning in rural areas to offer instant medical advice to families on any health problems by contacting the doctors deputed for the purpose.
In addition, the government would also set up mobile hospitals that would periodically visit villages to provide medical help.
Announcing this on the floor of the house on Tuesday, chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy said the health department would even supply medicines for the complete duration to those who are suffering from diseases like diabetes in rural areas.
The state government has already introduced ‘Rajiv Arogya Sri’, a health insurance scheme, to poor families in half-a-dozen districts, which will be extended to the entire state by October this year.
Under this scheme, the government provides Rs 200 annual premium to insurance companies, which fully reimburse the cost of treatment, including heart surgeries of up to Rs 2 lakh.
The government has earmarked Rs 450 crore for the scheme in the annual Budget for the year 2008-09.
Replying to a debate on motion of thanks to Governor for his address on the opening day of the annual Budget sessions of the Assembly, the chief minister said his government was prepared to adopt any scheme being implemented for the welfare of people in any state in the country if it was worth emulating.
“I request the Opposition parties to bring to the notice of the government any welfare scheme in any part of the country if it is better than those implemented by our government, and we will send a full team of officials along with your representatives to study the same,” he said.
The government has introduced a 104 service besides a 108 service in the state under public-private collaboration, where the former provides medical advice to the caller on any health-related problem and the latter sends ambulance with emergency medical help free of cost to the needy people.
Source: http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/158141/1/6684
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