Lok Sabha Question No. 363 (STARRED), answered on 2025-03-26
Subject: Status of Railway Hospitals and Health Units in Andhra Pradesh
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri G Lakshminarayana

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.363 TO BE ANSWERED ON 26.03.2025

## STATUS OF RAILWAY HOSPITALS AND HEALTH UNITS IN ANDHRA PRADESH

*363. SHRI G LAKSHMINARAYANA:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the number of railway hospitals and health units in each district of Andhra Pradesh including Anantapur;
- (b) the  details  of  the  sanctioned  medical  staff  strength  and  current vacancies,  job role-wise;
- (c) the details of the patient handling capacity of hospitals and health units and the number of patients treated annually during the last five years;
- (d) the availability details of the specialized medical services such as ICU, trauma care and diagnostic facilities in hospitals;
- (e) the infrastructure status of the hospitals including the availability of modern medical equipment and digital health records;
- (f) whether any railway hospitals in Andhra Pradesh including Anantapur are empanelled under Ayushman Bharat -PM-JAY, if so, the details thereof;
- (g) the  details  of  the  budget  allocation  and  expenditure  for  railway hospitals and health units in Andhra Pradesh during the last five years; and

## (h) whether  the  government  plans  to  upgrade  Railway  healthcare facilities in Andhra Pradesh, particularly in Anantapur?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (h) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (h)  OF  LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 363 TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA

ON 26.03.2025

(a)  to  (h)  To  provide  healthcare  facilities  to  Railway  employees,  both serving  and  retired  along  with  their  eligible  dependents,  Railway Medical facilities such as Hospitals/Health units etc. have  been established. Primary  healthcare  is  provided  by  Health  Units  where  OPD  based services  are  rendered.  The  patients  requiring  secondary  &  tertiary healthcare are referred to Sub- Divisional, Divisional & Zonal Hospitals. For cases  where  in-house  treatment  is  not  available  or  medical condition  of  the  patient  warrants  higher  level  of  care, referral  to Government  hospitals  and  empanelled  Private  Hospitals  is  done  to ensure optimal clinical care. Presently,  there  are  586  Health  Units  and  128  Railway  Hospitals existing  on  Indian  Railways.  In  Andhra  Pradesh,  there  are  6  Railway hospitals & 33 Health Units including one Divisional Railway Hospital at Guntakal and one Health Unit at Gooty in Anantapur district. Apart  from  Railway  beneficiaries,  the  general  public  can  also  take treatment in the Railway hospitals at CGHS rates of the city. Further, eligible beneficiaries among the general public may also take treatment in  Railway  hospitals  empanelled  under  Ayushman  Bharat  -  Pradhan

Mantri  Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY).

In Andhra Pradesh, Divisional Railway Hospital, Guntakal and Divisional   Railway Hospital, Visakhapatnam are empanelled under AB-

PMJAY. Annually, more than 10 lakh patients are treated in Railway Hospitals & Health Units situated in Andhra Pradesh. Railway hospitals have required infrastructure, essential medical equipment and trained healthcare personnel to provide comprehensive healthcare to Railway beneficiaries. Facilities of Intensive Care Units & Trauma care are available at Divisional Railway Hospital Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Guntakal, in addition to well-equipped wards, Operation Theatres and diagnostic services. Health Management Information System (HMIS) has been introduced in Railways to maintain Digital health records. Up-gradation  of  Railway  Hospitals/Health  Units  is  an  ongoing  process which is undertaken to constantly improve the existing infrastructure on the basis of local requirements of the beneficiaries and technological developments  taking place in the field of medical science.  Recent  infrastructure  up-gradations  in  Divisional  Hospital Visakhapatnam include a modular OT, kitchen complex, patient cabins & isolation ward. and renovation of 30 bedded air-conditioned ward has been taken up. The work  of  one  additional  floor  in  Divisional  Hospital,  Guntur  along  with

In Divisional hospital Guntakal, expansion of ICU complex modular OT and air-conditioned ward has also been taken up.

Andhra Pradesh is covered by Southern, South Central, East Coast and South Western Railways. Expenditure done in these zonal railways on medical facilities during last five years is Rs 4,531 cr.

Occurrence and filling up of vacancies including those of medical staff are  continuous  processes  on  Indian  Railways  considering  its  size, spatial  distribution  and  criticality  of  operation. Adequate  and  suitable manpower  is  provided  to  cater  to  the  regular  operations,  changes  in technology,  mechanisations  and  innovative  practices.  The  vacancies are  filled  up  primarily  by  placement  of  indents  by  Railways  with Recruitment agencies as per operational and technological requirements.

After easing of restrictions imposed on account of COVID 19, two major examinations  involving  more  than  2.37  crore  candidates  have  been conducted successfully.

| Exam    | Candidates   |   Cities |   Centres |   Days |   Shifts |
|---------|--------------|----------|-----------|--------|----------|
| L2 - L6 | 1.26 cr      |      211 |       726 |     68 |      133 |
| L1      | 1.1 cr       |      191 |       551 |     33 |       99 |

Based  on  these  exams,  1,30,581  candidates  have  been  recruited  in Railways.  Recruitment  done  in  Indian  Railways  during  2004-2005  to 2013-2014 vis-à-vis during 2014-2015 to 2023-2024 is given as under: -

| Period                 | Recruitments   |
|------------------------|----------------|
| 2004-2005 to 2013-2014 | 4.11 lakhs     |
| 2014-2015 to 2023-2024 | 5.02 lakhs     |

Further,  as  a  system  improvement,  the  Ministry  of  Railways  has introduced  a  system  of  publishing  annual  calendar  from  2024  for recruitment to various categories of Group 'C' posts. The introduction of annual calendar will benefit the aspirants in the following manner:

-        More opportunities for candidates;
-        Opportunities to those becoming eligible every year;
-        Certainty of exams;
-        Faster Recruitment process, Training and Appointments

Accordingly,  ten  Centralized  Employment  Notifications  (CENs)  for 92,116 vacancies have been notified during January to December 2024. This includes 1376 posts notified for various categories of Paramedical staff.

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