BENGALURU: A total of 438 Health and Wellness Centers, or Namma Clinics, are set to begin operating in Karnataka by December 15. Out of these, 243 Namma Clinics will begin operating within BBMP limits, Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar told media persons in Bengaluru on Thursday.
Sudhakar visited the model ‘Namma Clinic’ established at Mahalakshmipuram. Each Namma Clinic will have a doctor, a nurse, a lab technician and a Group-D employee. Sudhakar said that the appointment of 160 doctors has been completed and the BBMP has issued a notification to appoint the remaining doctors for the BBMP Namma Clinics. The appointments are expected to be completed by the end of this week. The appointment of all the remaining staff for the 243 Namma Clinics in the BBMP limits has been completed, he said.
The programme has been focused to address the healthcare needs of the urban poor, especially people falling below the poverty line and people living in huts. Each ward of the city will have at least one Namma Clinic and will operate like a PHC. In addition to providing healthcare, the Namma Clinics will focus on creating awareness about government healthcare schemes.
As per the guidelines, PHCs are set up in rural areas in accordance with the population. However, there aren’t enough government healthcare centers in urban areas to cater to the population. Hence, this new scheme has been launched.
The state government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Shri Basavaraj Bommai and the Union government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have provided complete support for the new initiative. The BBMP currently has a total of 198 wards which may increase in the future. “We have sanctioned additional clinics so as to ensure one clinic per ward in case of expansion”, Sudhakar noted.
The Namma Clinics are being established in government buildings and rented buildings which have an area of 1,000-1,200 sqft area. The government will incur a cost of Rs 138 crore to maintain the staff each year. “We have also incurred a non-recurring cost of Rs 17.52 crore to establish the Namma Clinics. Totally, we have incurred a cost of Rs 155 crore as of now. Namma Clinics will also create awareness about Yoga, Pranayama, Dhyana and food habits,” Sudhakar added. (ANI)