Delhi government on Monday said it will add 10,000 new beds at the hospitals run by it and also open 1,000 ‘mohalla clinics’ as it 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 last fiscal.
Presenting the budget in the Assembly, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the public health sector will continue to be the focus of developmental work undertaken by the AAP government in the coming financial year.
He said there is a jump of 9.86 per cent in the 2016-17 health budget over last year’s allocation of Rs 4,787 crore.
Talking about its “three-tier public health roadmap”, he said the government is processing tenders for setting up 1,000 ‘mohalla clinics’ by the end of this year which will form the first tier of its public health system. The second tier comprises polyclinics and Delhi government said it proposes to establish 150 of these out of which 20 are already operational.
The third tier will be hospitals and these are being re-modelled even as new institutions are to be set up. These reforms would provide an additional 10,000 hospital beds in Delhi over the next two years, said Sisodia.
Such a move would decongest hospitals and also improve the efficiency of doctors, nurses and paramedical staff, he added. The deputy
Chief Minister said the government has finalised the contours of a sector-wide, comprehensive Health Information Management System (HIMS), including a unique health card for citizens, which would supply patient information online and ensure seamless flow of data.
As part of its efforts to provide support and security to senior citizens living in the national Capital, the Delhi government will be setting up old age homes at five locations — Kanti Nagar, Chittranjan Park, Rohini, Paschim Vihar and Chattarpur. The completion of work for the old age home in Kanti Nagar is targeted by December 2017, said Delhi’s Deputy CM Manish Sisodia on Monday while presenting the Budget 2016-17.