Around 8 lakh OPD (Out Patient Department) patients till July 31, 2016, have approached the Mohalla Clinics established by the Delhi government in various parts of the Capital city. Pathological tests of nearly 43,000 people were already done at 105 Mohalla Clinics.
In response to critics pointing fingers at Mohalla Clinics, the Delhi government on Wednesday came out with these details. Health Minister Satyendar Jain has said that considerable numbers of people are approaching these clinics for primary treatment, where they are being provided proper treatment and medicine without any hassle. He also claimed that the government is receiving positive feedback from residents over the functioning of these clinics.
As per the report provided by the Health department, till July 31, 7,99,701 people have approached the OPDs of Mohalla Clinics. The report further noted that a total of 42,857 patients were tested in the clinics. The report has also noted the locations of these 105 clinics. The AAP government plans to set up 1,000 such clinics by December 31. All these clinics as of now are operating from rented premises and the government will soon build permanent structures.
In a bid to decongest government hospitals and make healthcare accessible to all, Delhi government had adopted a “three-tier public health roadmap”.
The first tier, Mohalla Clinics, is being kept as people’s first contact point with healthcare system. It refers patients needing a specialist to the next level, the polyclinic. The polyclinics refer only patients who require surgery or hospitalisation to a multi-specialty hospital.
The third tier comprises hospitals, they are being re-modelled even as new institutions are to be set up. The Delhi government has set a target to establish an additional 10,000 hospital beds in Delhi over the next two years.
The government has earmarked Rs 5,259 crore for the Health sector in its 2016-17 Budget, a hike of close to 10 per cent over the allocation in the last fiscal. The first Mohalla clinic was inaugurated in July last year in Rajiv Gandhi JJ Punjabi Colony, a relief camp in Peeragarhi.