CGHS centres to now treat all for dengue, chikungunya

In a move aimed at addressing the outbreak of dengue and chikungunya, the Centre has directed all doctors at Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) dispensaries to provide consultation and primary out-patient services to every patient coming with symptoms of dengue or chikungunya.

The CGHS centres have been directed to provide the consultation for free-of-cost to patients coming with symptoms of high fever even if they are not CGHS beneficiaries.  The move is a part of the various initiatives taken by the Union Health Ministry to deal with the dengue and chikungunya menace.

“The move has been taken to provide primary healthcare care to patients with symptoms of dengue or chikungunya at nearest available CGHS centre. Given that in chikungunya patients need to get hospitalised, so the consultation and medicine provided at dispensaries would help in curing the disease,” CGHS director DC Joshi told Millennium Post.

According to the official order of Health Ministry, the doctors stationed at CGHS wellness centres in Delhi and NCR region have been directed to provide these services irrespective of whether the patient is a CGHS beneficiary or not.

Commenting on the timings of CGHS centres, Joshi said, “The dispensaries will operate as per its scheduled timing, which is from 7:30 am to 2 pm. At present, these services will be available in Delhi and NCR only as cases of both the diseases are on the rise. If the diseases spread in other parts of the country, we are ready to extend the free consultation service to all patients in other cities too.”

Commenting on staff crunch, Joshi said, “That’s an issue with every government healthcare centre, but in CGHS case, we have enough doctors to handle the crisis.”

“There are above 90 CGHS clinics in Delhi and NCR and patients having symptoms of high fever, headache, joint pain, etc are advised to visit nearest dispensaries to take consultation and primary medicine for free,” the CGHS director said.  

The national capital has reported about 490 dengue and over 450 chikungunya cases and figures are on the rise. Chikungunya, a disease which is mostly non-fatal is a viral illness and its symptoms are similar to dengue, which includes high-grade fever, severe joint pain, muscle pain and headache and joint swelling. It also causes rashes in patients but is not a threat like dengue in which there is a risk of bleeding due to abrupt fall in platelet count.