Tirupati: Jawahar Reddy's vision leads SVIMS towards self-sufficiency

Tirupati: Former TTD Executive Officer and currently CM's Special Chief Secretary KS Jawahar Reddy has laid an ever lasting impact towards making SVIMS super speciality hospital self-sufficient and improving the healthcare standards. Along with YV Subba Reddy, Chairman of TTD trust board, Jawahar Reddy was instrumental in the absorption process of SVIMS into TTD from the hands of the State government. They both vowed to develop the Institute as a world-class hospital.

As Principal Secretary of medical, health and family welfare he completed the formalities in this regard and subsequently when he took over the reins of TTD, the process gathered further momentum and was completed. With this, the TTD gets the administrative control over the Institute so that quick decisions in providing various facilities which are essential in extending advanced patient care can be taken at the earliest.

Though the TTD has been giving the annual grant to SVIMS besides taking up various development initiatives, Jawahar Reddy wanted the Institute to become more self-sufficient. Though he had a short stint at the helm of TTD, it had resulted in several permanent steps for the betterment of the Institute.

Following his directions, SVIMS introduced the paying rooms concept and 95 rooms were modernised and commissioned gradually and the first batch of 30 rooms were introduced by TTD Chairman Subba Reddy in January. These rooms are equipped with oxygen facilities besides various other amenities and will be allotted to patients who wish to pay an extra amount to get corporate style facilities where specialised services will also be provided. In recent times, following his suggestions, SVIMS has introduced a cashless treatment facility for all patients covered under various health insurance schemes on par with corporate hospitals. So far it has tied up with about 10 mega health insurance companies to facilitate cashless medicare to the card holders while many such MoUs with other companies are under pipeline.

Till then, only Dr YSR Aarogyasri patients, government, TTD, some other government sector staff and ESI beneficiaries who have the facility of employees' health scheme were only eligible to get cashless treatment facility. As it has many specialties, patients from across the State were coming to the Institute to get advanced treatment at affordable cost, the cashless treatment facility became a boon apart from benefiting them, it was also learnt to be part of making the hospital self-sufficient and independent. Jawahar Reddy's review meetings with the hospital administration were always aimed at bring in new initiatives. At one such meeting, he announced that a new block would be allocated at the hospital exclusively for the patients covered under Aarogyasri scheme.

He felt the need to improvise the process of sending all medical tests and scanning reports online which will help in quick assessment of patients' condition.

The Institute has also initiated the process of replacing important equipment like MRI scan, cathlab, PET scan facilities as they become about 10 years old. Efforts were on to make ready the new emergency block very soon so that some of the Ops can be diverted into the new facility to decongest the existing one. His 40-year bondage with the city also made him take up various new activities in a novel way.