Telangana's Bhadradri Kothagudem govt hospitals deliver specialised care in remote areas
Government hospitals in Bhadradri Kothagudem provide specialised surgery and round-the-clock maternity care, drawing patients from beyond Telangana.
A family from YSR Kadapa district in Andhra Pradesh travelled to Yellandu in Telangana's Bhadradri Kothagudem district for a specialised sinus operation after being told to wait months and facing private hospital bills running into lakhs of rupees.
Meghana, a resident of Busireddypalli village in Veerapunayunipalli mandal, had been suffering from severe sinus problems and a nasal obstruction caused by tissue growth inside her nose. Her family, headed by a single mother and financially disadvantaged, found the prospect of private treatment difficult. Hospitals in Andhra Pradesh and Hyderabad had advised a wait of nearly three months.
An acquaintance put the family in touch with Dr G. Ravi Babu, the district's Coordinator of Hospital Services, who referred Meghana to the Area Hospital at Yellandu. There, ENT specialist Dr Ravi Tejaswi performed Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery along with septoplasty, bilateral turbinectomy and middle meatal conchoplasty to treat the sinus disease and relieve the obstruction. Dr Ravi Babu said the treatment spared the family both the long wait and the high costs quoted by private hospitals.
The push to keep essential services available in remote parts of the district is also visible at the Community Health Centre in Charla, where the medical team handled eight deliveries within 24 hours, including four normal births and four Caesarean sections. The deliveries were managed by gynaecologist Dr Sravani, anaesthesiologist Dr Krishna Prasad, OT team member Sneha, nursing officers Shailaja and Dayamani, Abrar, labour-room nurses and other staff.
The effort came amid heavy rain over the previous three days and difficult road conditions. Dr Ravi Babu said the medical team travels nearly 60 km every day to provide maternity services at Charla, so that pregnant women do not have to depend entirely on hospitals farther away. Charla is about 56 km from the Area Hospital at Bhadrachalam, making local maternity care significant for residents of the remote mandal. The continuation of 24x7 services has helped build local confidence in the government hospital.
Dr Ravi Babu said the hospital had earlier faced a shortage of nursing personnel, but recent recruitment has ensured adequate nursing staff. Doctors were also recruited, though several have not joined duty because of the hospital's remote location.