135 Medical Officers Face Notices Over Poor Patient Feedback in AP

Palnadu district has emerged as the frontrunner in Andhra Pradesh in delivering healthcare services through government urban and primary health centres, securing an 81.6 per cent patient satisfaction rating. Polavaram followed closely with 81.5 per cent, while Nellore secured third place with 80.7 per cent. Tirupati and Krishna districts occupied the fourth and fifth positions with 78.3 per cent and 77.5 per cent, respectively.

The rankings were prepared by the Health and Medical Department based on patient responses collected through the Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) from July to November 7. The assessment covered key aspects of healthcare delivery, including the availability of doctors, supply of medicines, sanitation and other facilities at government health centres.

Kurnool district recorded the lowest satisfaction rating of 69.5 per cent. Anantapur, NTR, Anakapalli and Markapuram also featured among the lower-ranked districts, registering 69.8, 70.9, 71.5 and 71.8 per cent, respectively.

In a separate development, the department issued show-cause notices to 135 medical officers working at urban and primary health centres over poor patient feedback received during October. The assessment examined four parameters: doctor availability, sanitation, whether patients were asked to pay for medical services, and the availability of prescribed medicines.

Medical officers who received entirely negative feedback in at least one of these categories were issued notices. Director of Public Health Dr R. Venkataramana submitted the findings to Health Minister Satyakumar Yadav. The Minister has been closely monitoring patient satisfaction and the functioning of government healthcare facilities, prompting senior officials to intensify supervision.

Meanwhile, several centres featured among the 20 best-performing facilities. These included Kuderu, Tarimela and Kambadur in Anantapur, Sirigiripadu in Palnadu, Kurichedu in Prakasam, Jagadevipeta in Nellore and Tonduru in YSR Kadapa. Other centres from East Godavari, Eluru, Kurnool, Sri Sathya Sai, Srikakulam and Tirupati also made the list.