On a cold morning in 2023, their 21-year-old colleague Latha (name changed) took action quickly and quickly in the office of the Chittal Regional Government of Andhra Pradesh. They took her to a government hospital at the regional headquarters 45 kilometers away, praying that they were not late.
The next day, they learned that their rapid efforts were in making up for travel time and the efforts Latha received for the critical healthcare.
Despite receiving half a day of treatment, she showed no signs of improvement. The hospital staff seemed to have no confidence in her chances of survival. Nevertheless, a ward boy there suggested they transfer her to a private hospital in Tirupati, 75 kilometers away.
Recalling the agonizing experience, Leta's brother Harish said: “We admit that my sister lasted two days at a private hospital in Tirupati and paid Rs 70,000 worth of medical expenses, just heard the doctor say they did everything, but my sister didn't make progress.”
A senior professor at SV University advised us to immediately admit that my sister in Velore, Tamil Nadu joined my sister, which was again 110 km. Fortunately, she recovered, she recovered halfway and we paid her for her normal life.
“But despite this ordeal, our families have lost confidence in the health care system and hospitals, including private and government-run hospitals,” Harish concluded.
Despite the pain, Latha is one of the few people in the Chittoor region, especially from the villages between Chittoor and Kuppam parliamentary constituencies, and despite such severe delays in managing major health care, they survived successfully.
Ignored intersection
Chittoor, the southern part of Andhra Pradesh, the Kuppam region of the region is located on the tri-state borders of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Despite occupying an important border area, people here continue to suffer from emergencies and critical medical services, as the recently government-run super specialty hospital, the Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS), is located at the Sri Venkateswara Ramnarain Ruia Ruia Government Hospital (RUIA Hospital), located 200 km away. However, a few people who can afford it prefer the CMC Hospital, which is more than 116 km from Kuppam and 40 km from Chittoor.
Meanwhile, the only medical school, the town of PES, the only medical school, Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (PESIMSR), provides emergency services to six more than six mandala patients from Kuppam and neighboring Palamer parliamentary voters, is seen as a financial burden by rural people in the area.
Unlike government hospitals, the institute charges patients from the stage of issuing outpatient cards. “In critical situations, the hospital requires you to pay in advance when you are ready to refer patients to a hospital in Bangalore (nearly 120 km)” said Kuppam reporter Lakshmi Narayana.
Mr Narayana cited recent incidents to support his statement. He explained: “A few months ago, a man was injured in a sport called the Bulls. Pasuvula Pandugaheld in a remote village, was taken to PES hospital. From there, he was transferred to Kolar, 60 km in Karnataka, and then to Bengaluru, where he was eventually pronounced dead. Doctors reported that the cause of death was heavy blood loss. ”
On the other hand, it is said that most of the teachers at Pesimsr are from Bangalore and are not available on weekends and holidays. They believe this is the biggest obstacle to the facility's emergency services, forcing the public to choose a private doctor (PMP) or a hospital in Bangalore or Vellore.
View of Chittal Government Regional Hospital. |Picture source: Arrangement
Investigation revelation
In view of this, the Apollo Hospital’s Education and Research Foundation (AHERF) took over the governmental regional hospital in Chittal five years ago under the clinical protocol process and has prepared a document advocating the urgent need for super professional interventions in the health sector in the region.
The document stressed that in September and October 2022 alone, regional hospitals handed over 514 trauma cases to higher medical institutions in Tirupati, Chennai, Vellore or Bengaluru. The report said that during the same period, 939 hearts, 52 neurologic and 35 kidney cases were mentioned outside the region during the same period.
Another major hospital in the area, the 350-bed Kuppam Government Regional Hospital, also referred 80% of emergency cases to superior agencies, sources said.
Similarly, the government hospital in Bangalorem is 30 kilometers away from Chittal, adjacent to a national highway and close to the accident hotspot Mogili Ghat Road. However, despite its strategic geographical location, the hospital limits itself to providing first aid to victims, often referring key cases to CMC hospitals or SVIMS hospitals. However, it is difficult to ignore the large number of casualties in this referral segment, especially when the situation is time-sensitive.
K. Dhanasekharan, chairman of the NGO, a Chittoor NGO, Rural Poverty Services (ROPES), stressed that the CMC hospital’s contribution to the provision of critical emergency health care to patients in the region, shared his experience of patients with critical gynecological problems. “I referred her to the CMC Hospital and considered a letter of request asking her to consider her financial background in order to seek a free concession for medical and surgical intervention. They did not charge her a rupee,” he said.
In the absence of super specialty hospitals or national medical institutes in the region, CMC hospitals have become a destination for critical and trauma cases, especially for impoverished and middle-class families in the Chittoor and Tirupati regions. “If the company hospital charges Rs 1,000, CMC hospitals charge only Rs 600 when providing world-class services,” he said.
PMP threat
In any case, a popular opinion between the government and private doctors is that unless the accident case, most critical cases in the rural areas of Chittel, especially from Bangalore Palam to Kupam, are the result of unnecessary intervention here of PMP.
“them [PMPs] Prescribe large amounts of antibiotics, sometimes substandard brands, even for minor illnesses. This can cause patients to develop antibiotic resistance or cause damage to their vital organs. It is these patients’ segments that prove to be emergency cases for government hospitals. ”
“There are two types of PMPs [private medical practitioners] In Kuppam: those who increase the number of emergency situations, and those who really refer to senior institutions”Lakshmi NarayanaReporter, Kupam
Mr Narayana of Kuppam said: “There are two types of PMPs in Kuppam: those who increase the number of emergency situations, and those who really refer to senior institutions.”
More than a hundred PMPs are said to be practicing in the region, more than half of which are from neighboring Tamil Nadu. Mr Narayana added: “After the strict restrictions on their state, they started practicing here.”
Regional Medical and Health Official (DM&HO) DT Sudha Rani agrees that PMP is a threat that requires examination.
However, she noted how the lack of a super specialty hospital in Chittal connects the public with people in Bangalore, Chennai, Chennai, Velor and Tirupati, especially after “improving the socio-economic conditions of people here and their ability to afford health insurance policies”.
“At government hospitals, we do our best to sensitize the public to preventive medicine and refer patients to higher institutions only after careful consideration. The idea that private hospitals are leading providers of quality care is a fallacy,” said Dr Rani Avers.
“Everything will be made to bring advanced medical facilities to Chittal through the National Health Mission Fund. I am presenting a proposal to establish trauma care centers and increase the number of dialysis centers in the area.”Daggumalla Prasada RaoMember of the Chittal Parliament
Daggumalla Prasada Rao, a member of parliament from Chittoor, is firmly advocating for the establishment of a super privileged hospital in rural Chittoor and assured: “Everything will be done to bring advanced medical facilities together with the National Health Mission Fund to Chittoor.” In addition, he said: “I am making a proposal to establish trauma care centres and increase the number of dialysis centres in the area.”
Meanwhile, death continues to hover over an impassable mileage between the accident site and the health care center here.
Murugesh, 40, was in a bicycle accident last year at Mogili Ghat Road near Bangarupalem, recalling how his family moved his brother 100 kilometers from one hospital to another, eventually causing him to lose only 10 kilometers from the SVRR hospital in Tirupati. He asked, “What killed my brother: accident, a well-equipped community health center, or was it abandoned here without a good hospital?”
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publishing – May 2, 2025 at 09:49 AM IST
