Special leave for radiographers, workload reduction for nurses and incentives for paramedical staff

AMARAVATI, September 4: The Andhra Pradesh Government has issued a series of orders aimed at addressing long-pending service-related issues faced by contract employees in the Health and Medical Education departments.

The measures follow representations made by the Contract Employees’ Joint Action Committee (JAC) to Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav. Responding positively to their demands, the Minister directed officials to examine the issues and take appropriate action.

Following his directions, Health Department Secretary Veerapandian and Health and Family Welfare Commissioner Chakradhar Babu conducted reviews with the concerned officials. Subsequently, orders were issued providing relief to contract employees working in various healthcare institutions.

Special leave for radiographers

The government has provided a special benefit to contract radiographers and radiographic technicians who are exposed to radiation as part of their duties.

Eligible personnel working in X-ray and radiology departments of teaching hospitals will be granted 30 days of mandatory special leave after completing every 11 months of service, according to the orders.

The special leave will not be deducted from their regular leave account.

Staff deployment in PHCs

The government has also addressed the shortage of personnel and duty adjustments in Primary Health Centres (PHCs).

Officials have been instructed to utilise available staff based on local requirements. The services of Male Nursing Orderlies (MNOs) and Female Nursing Orderlies (FNOs) may be utilised during the day, while Sanitary Attendants and other support staff, as required, may be deployed during night hours.

The government has particularly emphasised using such personnel to support staff members assigned to night duties.

Steps to reduce nurses’ workload

Measures have also been introduced to reduce the burden of continuous 12-hour duties on nurses working in PHCs.

Where three nurses are posted at a PHC, duties should be adjusted through a rotation system even when one nurse is on leave. The government has directed officials to ensure that a nurse is not burdened with a continuous 12-hour duty during the daytime.

The available services of Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) should also be effectively utilised to facilitate duty adjustments, the orders stated.

Clinical training for students at PHCs

The government has also permitted DMLT and B.Sc. MLT students to undergo clinical training at PHCs.

Under the guidelines, students undertaking six- or 12-month clinical training can undergo a one-month training programme at PHCs and Urban Primary Health Centres (UPHCs).

District Medical and Health Officers will identify and allot training centres to eligible students.

Incentives under NTR Vaidya Seva Trust

Another significant decision relates to incentives provided through the Dr. NTR Vaidya Seva Trust (NTRVST) for surgeries and medical procedures.

The government has directed that eligible contract paramedical employees who participate in surgeries and procedures should receive a prescribed share of the incentives along with doctors, based on their respective cadres.

Staff nurses, operation theatre technicians, anaesthesia technicians, laboratory technicians, pharmacists and other eligible supporting personnel are to be included in the incentive system according to the applicable norms.

The Health and Family Welfare Commissioner has also directed that details of surgeries conducted each month, the personnel who participated and the incentive amounts payable to them should be displayed on the notice board.

The latest orders are expected to provide relief to a large number of contract healthcare employees while also improving staff utilisation and service delivery at government health facilities across the State. 

AMARAVATI, April 20: A total of 377 doctors have joined primary health centres (PHCs) and teaching hospitals across Andhra Pradesh as Medical Officers and Civil Assistant Surgeons, with women accounting for 232 of the new recruits — or 61.53 per cent of the total intake — Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav announced on Monday.

Of the newly joined doctors, 282 have taken charge as Medical Officers in PHCs while the remaining 95 have joined teaching hospitals as Civil Assistant Surgeons.

Recruitment process

The AP Medical Services Recruitment Board had issued a notification on behalf of the Director of Public Health to fill 630 Medical Officer posts on a permanent basis, against which 4,984 applications were received. Following scrutiny under prescribed rules, online counselling was conducted to fill 611 posts — excluding those reserved under the sports quota — from a finalised selection list. Of those called for counselling, 482 candidates registered their preferences.

234 posts to be filled shortly

However, 129 candidates did not exercise their options, and 105 others who received postings did not report for duty, leaving 234 posts vacant. The Director of Public Health has requested the Recruitment Board to furnish a fresh merit list of remaining eligible candidates from the original selection list drawn up under last year's notification. A revised list will be prepared in accordance with reservation rules and other applicable norms, and fresh online counselling will be conducted shortly. The coalition government has been taking continuous steps to ensure zero vacancy in public health posts, the Minister said.

District-wise distribution

Among the districts, Krishna, Nandyal, Palnadu, and Srikakulam recorded the highest intake, with 16 Medical Officers joining PHCs in each district. Kadapa, Eluru, and Konaseema districts saw 15, 14, and 13 doctors join respectively, while West Godavari, Alluri Sitarama Raju, Anantapur, and Prakasam each received 12 new PHC Medical Officers.

In teaching hospitals, Kadapa led with 25 Civil Assistant Surgeons reporting for duty, followed by Kakinada and Kurnool with 13 each. Across tribal areas of the State, 37 doctors have joined service.

Over 33% of target beneficiaries inoculated so far; vaccination centres to remain operational through May, says Health Minister Satyakumar Yadav

AMARAVATI : The Central government has dispatched an additional 1,90,890 doses of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to Andhra Pradesh, reinforcing the state's ongoing drive to protect adolescent girls against cervical cancer, Health and Medical Minister Satyakumar Yadav announced on Monday.

The fresh consignment follows an earlier batch of 1,90,800 doses supplied last month under the first instalment of the Central government's HPV vaccination initiative, taking the total doses received by the state to 3,81,780. The vaccine is being administered to girls in the 14 to 15 age group as part of a targeted public health intervention aimed at preventing cervical cancer.

Mr. Yadav said authorities were taking steps to distribute the newly arrived doses to districts in proportion to the number of eligible girls in each area. He confirmed that vaccination centres across the state would continue to function without interruption through May, and added that the completion of Class X public examinations was expected to further accelerate the pace of inoculation as school-going girls became more accessible.

Over One Lakh Girls Vaccinated So Far

According to data compiled from village and ward secretariats, there are approximately 3.45 lakh girls in the state who have completed 14 years of age but have not yet turned 15 — the designated target group for the current phase of the drive. Of these, 1,14,512 girls, representing 33.19 per cent of the total, had received the vaccine by Monday afternoon.

Among the districts, Kurnool recorded the highest number of beneficiaries at 6,785, followed closely by Nellore at 6,726, YSR district at 6,725, and Anantapur at 6,655. At the other end of the spectrum, Polavaram district reported the lowest coverage with 669 girls vaccinated, followed by Alluri Sitarama Raju district at 1,063, Sri Sathya Sai at 2,769, and Anakapalli at 2,959.

Cold Chain Infrastructure and Safety Protocols

The vaccine is being administered at 1,645 primary and urban health centres across the state that have been identified as having adequate cold chain storage facilities. Health officials said girls were being observed for 30 minutes after receiving the shot as a standard precautionary measure, and that no adverse reaction cases had been reported thus far.

In keeping with Central government directives, 500 doses from the first consignment were separately dispatched to Yanam. Officials noted that Andhra Pradesh was among the states in the forefront of implementing the Central guidelines on HPV vaccination, describing the initiative as a critical step towards reducing the burden of cervical cancer.

Mr. Yadav reiterated that the HPV vaccine was both safe and effective and urged parents to ensure that eligible girls in the target age group availed themselves of the free vaccination at the nearest health centre before the current drive concluded.