Experts sceptical about schemes
■ Kanti Velugu, KCR kits affect other schemes HEALTH EXPERTS in the public domain stated that implementing the two schemes Kanti Velugu and KCR kits took away a major portion of their time as they had to build it up and show results.
Health schemes relating to dental and ENT fields have been promised by caretaker Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao for people of Telangana state in Jedcherla. The information, however, is being sceptically viewed by health experts.
Dr T. Narsinga Reddy, a senior member of the Indian Medical Association from the state said, “The Kanti Velugu scheme is actually the National Programme for Control of Blindness which has been given a different name. The parameters are the same as the central scheme. There is nothing different about this scheme. When 80 per cent of TS people are covered in the Aarogyasri scheme, what is the need for more specific schemes?”
Aarogyasri has a robust data of the health of the people in the state and the different diseases that they suffer from which needs to be tabulated to prepare the health profile of the people.
Health experts in the public domain stated that implementing the two schemes Kanti Velugu and KCR kits took away a major portion of their time as they had to build it up and show results. But, the other national programs have taken a back seat. The programmes for controlling malaria and dengue have been put on the backburner as the major concentration is on these government schemes.
In addition to this, along with the health staff from modern science even Ayush doctors and staff were used. A senior gynaecologist on condition of anonymity explained, “In the KCR kit scheme for ante-natal checkup and complications the patients came to private hospitals. Hence, if there is a scheme is it looking into the concept of 1,000 days of life which is very important for both mother and child health. We found that the government hospitals delivered, patients took the kit and with infections or complications rushed to the private hospital for treatment. It did not serve the purpose.”
Similarly, in Kanti Velugu scheme in Warangal there were 18 patients who suffered from botched cataract surgeries in September 2018. The scheme is going to end on January 26 and there will be an approximate of 6 lakh surgeries that will have to be performed. After the complications occurred, the patients were sent to L.V. Prasad Eye Hospital for treatment.
A senior public health official said, “Health cannot be made into a focussed activity by concentrating on certain sections. It’s a complete profile. To add to this, health and sanitation go hand in hand. The sanitation conditions need to be improved and that will help to reduce the burden of disease.”