From just 17,000 beds in government hospitals before the state formation to 50,000 beds very soon, the Telangana government has given an unprecedented thrust to public healthcare facilities. With the addition of new hospitals and the upgradation of the existing facilities, Telangana has witnessed a massive turnaround in nine years. Resultantly, the number of beds in Telangana’s government hospitals is 34,000, and soon 16,000 more beds will be added once the construction of super specialty hospitals and hospitals affiliated with new medical colleges are completed. On average, Telangana has created 1,889 new beds every year since 2014.
The significant feature of this growth story is 20 percent of the total beds will be super specialty beds. The KCR-led government is spending around Rs. 5,000 crores for super specialty beds alone. Before 2014, NIMS was the only option for the public availing super specialty care with a mere 900 beds. After the formation of the state, the number of super specialty beds in NIMS was doubled and once the expansion works of the NIMS are completed, 4,000 super specialty beds will be available in NIMS. Additionally, 2,000 super specialty beds in the upcoming Warangal Health City, 4,000-beds in four TIMS hospitals in Hyderabad will take the super specialty beds number to 10,000. It effectively means a rise of around 1000% in super specialty beds since 2014.
Another critical aspect of this healthcare revolution is the rise in ICU beds. There were only 5 ICU centres in 2014, which have now increased to 80. With the new medical colleges, TIMS, and NIMS, the number of ICU beds too will jump to 10,000. In addition, the state government is placing a strong focus on Mother and Child Healthcare Centres in Telangana and 6,000 special beds are made available at these facilities. In all, 26,000 beds out of the total 50,000 beds will be offering special healthcare services which can efficiently come to the rescue of the citizens in testing times such as health emergencies or pandemics like COVID-19.
By prioritizing public healthcare, Telangana, which is already the third best state in NITI Aayog’s health index, is standing as a role model to other states, and CM KCR’s vision of ‘Aarogya Telangana’ is becoming a reality.
