From chemotherapy to dialysis, Telangana is steadily shifting critical healthcare services out of Hyderabad and to District Hospitals, in what officials describe as a push to ensure treatment is available closer to patients’ homes.
Marking World Health Day, observed annually on April 7 (Tuesday), a senior official from the Health Department said the government’s recent interventions are aimed at strengthening access, reducing travel burden, and building a structured public health system that can handle both chronic and emergency care at the district level.
At the centre of this approach is the expansion of services for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), with clinics now established across all districts in response to the rising burden of hypertension, diabetes and cancer.
Cancer care, in particular, is being decentralised in a significant way. With approximately 60,000 new cancer cases being diagnosed in Telangana each year, day-care cancer centres have been set up in all district headquarters. “These centres allow patients to undergo chemotherapy locally, reducing the need to travel to Hyderabad. The government is also planning to establish four regional cancer care centres as part of a broader strategy to strengthen screening and treatment,” the official said.
