Andhra Pradesh

Vizag: Health city in the making

The city of Visakhapatnam is blessed with many a sobriquet. Some refer to it as the ‘City of Destiny’, which was coined by the founding Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University C.R. Reddy and a few refer to it as the ‘Port City’ or the ‘Steel City’.

But of late it is being termed as the ‘Health City’, thanks to the mushrooming of corporate hospitals and hi-tech diagnostic centres.

In today’s jet-setting lifestyle health has become a thing of neglect, and with every passing day a new ailment is being diagnosed.

In tune with that the city is on the move to provide adequate health facilities to the people.

It has become the hub of medical treatment, next to Hyderabad, in the State and a source of lifeline for people from the neighbouring States like Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa.

The city is packed with best of doctors, catering to all specialities, hospitals and diagnostic centres that are well-equipped.

Though the hospital network is spread across the length and breadth of Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation, the biggest advantage is that a major chunk is concentrated in one particular area.

One just needs to go to the area where the Collector’s office is located and practically ‘window-shop’ the hospital, doctor or the diagnostic centre.

Everything that one looks for in a ‘packaged-healthcare’ is available in that area, right from hospitals to lodges and from restaurants to medical shops and diagnostic centres.

The city has a couple of speciality hospitals to cater to specific ailments like heart diseases, cancer, orthopaedic disorders, psychological problems and trauma care. Most of the corporate hospitals come in packages. They provide treatment for almost all type of ailments.

These apart there are a quite a few government run hospitals like King George Hospital, Government Victoria Hospital for Women, Rani Chandramati Devi Hospital and Government Hospital for the Mentally Challenged.

For any treatment, diagnosis plays an important role. There are a number of diagnostic centres that are equipped to diagnose dreadful diseases like cancer, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. The successful treatment of cancer depends on an early diagnosis, and that needs state-of-the-art diagnostic systems.

There are a few centres in the city that are equipped to do so.

For people suffering from neurological and orthopaedic disorders, physiotherapy is part of the treatment process.

A few well-equipped centres have sprung up of late and professionally qualified doctors are running them.

The age-old concept of Kerala Ayurveda has also got its presence in the form of a few professionally run centres.

While the city is far from being noted as a centre for health tourism, it is certainly making its presence felt as a centre for healthcare.

‘Doctor’s Day’, is celebrated on July 1 every year, and it holds a special significance for medical practitioners in India.

From dentists to neurosurgeons, homeopaths to heart specialists, physicians to paediatricians,

Doctor’s Day is the time to pay tribute to the entire medical profession.

This is in commemoration of the birth anniversary of eminent physician, patriot and the first Chief Minister of West Bengal, B.C.Roy.

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