State health workforce, emergency fleet expand with fresh recruitment drive
Mangaluru: Karnataka Health Minister U T Khader revealed on Friday a package of measures designed to reinforce the state’s public healthcare network. The steps cover extensive hiring of medical staff, growth of emergency transport capacity and wider health insurance protection for residents, government workers and older citizens.
He spoke at a press conference held in Mangaluru on Thursday and announced the decisions. Recruitment of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and laboratory technicians for Primary Health Centres has been speeded up.
Roughly 200 MBBS doctors entered service during the last one-and-a-half months, and hiring of close to 1,000 healthcare workers remains in progress. Clearance has been given to appoint another 3,000 personnel within the health department.
Emergency medical reach will improve through the addition of 450 new 108 ambulances, raising the statewide total beyond 750 vehicles.
Response targets stand at 15 minutes for urban zones and 20 minutes for rural areas. One hundred bike ambulances will also enter service in cities facing heavy traffic so that urgent help arrives more rapidly.
The Ayushman Karnataka insurance programme is being reinforced to guarantee that patients sent from government hospitals obtain care at listed private facilities without extra costs.
Extension of the same scheme to qualifying Above Poverty Line families is under active consideration. Within the Health Sanjeevini Scheme meant for government employees, the list of covered medical procedures will rise from 1,500 to approximately 3,000.
Preparations are under way to introduce the Sandhya Kiran health scheme for retired government staff and the Vayo Vandana scheme for every senior citizen aged 70 years or older. Both proposals currently await Central government clearance.
Khader described the entire set of actions as a unified effort to deliver accessible, affordable and high-quality healthcare throughout Karnataka while raising the operating efficiency of government health facilities.