Vijayawada: Labour minister Vasamsetti Subhash on Wednesday highlighted the necessity of upgrading the existing four Employees State Insurance (ESI) hospitals into super-speciality institutions.Presiding over a review meeting with officials at the AP Secretariat in Amaravati, he asked officials to prepare plans in this regard. The ES hospitals are located in Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry, Vijayawada and Tirupati.The minister asked officials of the labour department to coordinate with other departments and raise the current insurance amount for workers from ₹14.5 lakh to ₹25 lakh. He asked them to ensure that all facilities at the ESI hospitals, including diagnostic centres, dispensaries and equipment are fully functional. He maintained that patients must be able to use all available ESI services without the need to approach private institutions.Subhash observed that lack of inspection in factories and shops has hindered registration of ESI cards for workers. He directed officials to focus on this issue and conduct special drives, if necessary, to resolve the problem.The minister referred to requests by his ministerial colleague Kolusu Partha Sarathy and Tanuku MLA A. Radhakrishna, seeking setting up of ESI hospitals in Nuzvid and Tanuku. He wanted officials to examine these proposals and initiate action. He said proposals for promotion of doctors and other staff should be prepared quickly.Subhash asked the department to expedite approval of policies under the Chandranna insurance scheme. He underlined that steps be taken to resolve all pending claims by March of this year.He ordered department officials to eliminate the child labour system.
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