The state general hospital can only treat 300 patients while more than 10,000 COVID-19 patients await treatment.
Poor medical infrastructure in the absence of a state medical college is causing untold misery for COVID-19 patients in Vizinagaram and other parts of the district.
Successive governments ignored the establishment of a medical college in the district, established on June 1, 1979. The four decades of negligence have now become a curse on patients forced to go to hospitals in the nearby Visakhapatnam district.
The existing state general hospital can only accept 300 COVID-19 patients if more than 10,000 people have tested positive for the infection and are waiting for treatment.
BJP senior leader Pakalapati Sanyasi Raju said the party has been calling for a state media college to be set up for two decades. “The improvement of the medical infrastructure should be a top priority for the state government. Hardly 500 crore rupees would be enough for its establishment. YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s government should speed up the process as Narendra Modi’s government has also relaxed the norms for setting up new medical colleges in backward regions, ”he said.
Loksatta Party Executive President Bhisetti Babji said the state government had pledged the establishment of the medical college but failed to find a suitable location last year. “At least 1,000 beds would have been available for COVID patients if the medical college had been founded in 2020 itself. Mere explanations and the sanctioning of money on paper would not benefit the district. The state government should show its commitment by taking war-based steps to build the new college, ”he said.
Former MP from Parvatipuram, Dr. DVG Sankara Rao, a doctor by profession, said that improving the medical infrastructure at the level of Visakhapatnam district would ensure the treatment of patients in Vizianagaram district itself. “In addition to treating patients, senior doctors and professors can concentrate on research. They can share their views and take case studies in situations like COVID-19, ”said Dr. Rao.
Currently, Vizianagaram only has one private medical college – the Maharaja Institute of Medical Science in Nellimarla.
The Minister of City Council Botcha Satyanarayana and other public officials inspected various locations next to the government hospital, the police station and the leprosy hospital. However, the website has not been finalized for several reasons. Officials are expected to focus on site selection after the pandemic is brought under control.