The government is taking steps to ease the burden of increasing medical costs on the middle class and the poor. To this end, it is spending Rs 90 lakh to acquire modern diagnostic equipment at the MCH Hospital in Wanaparthy, which will provide free tests to the public. The hospital will offer tests related to heart, kidney, lung, cancer, thyroid, and other ailments, in addition to lifestyle diseases. It will also provide 57 types of blood and urine tests, X-ray, ECG, ultrasounds, scanning, and other tests.
To further aid the poor, a thyroid device T-diagnostic center is being built at the hospital at a cost of Rs 30 lakh. This center will provide free medical examinations to those in need. The construction of eight rooms on the ground floor and five rooms on the first floor has been completed, and the equipment is currently being installed at the new center.
Currently, samples collected from patients are being sent to Gadwala T-Hub for testing. However, due to delays in getting the results, patients are preferring private diagnostic centers in urgent situations. These centers charge high prices for various tests. For example, they charge Rs3,000 for various blood tests, Rs300 for ECG, Rs500 for X-ray, Rs3,500 for CT scanning (brain), and Rs4,000 for chest scanning.
The T-diagnostic center will provide these and many more tests free of cost to the poor. The results of the tests, totaling 66, will be made available in a timely manner. Small works are currently being carried out at the T-Diagnostic Centre, and officials are confident that they will be completed soon. The center will be very useful for poor people as well as women, including pregnant women, according to Dr Narendra Kumar, Superintendent of the District Government General Hospital.
