In order to fill gaps in the existing health system, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government is putting all its efforts to increase the number of mohalla clinics in the Capital. While the government is working towards bringing more clinics, the existing clinics are facing existential crisis with shortage of doctors and equipment, hence failing to meet the demands of the patients.
Senior doctors working in these clinics allege that many a times a patient is turned away due to shortage of medicines. The government’s one of the most ambitious projects offers free diagnosis and medicines for the patients. There are 189 functional mohalla clinics in the Capital as of now.
The AAP government, in its 2018-2019 budget, has proposed setting up of 1,000 such clinics in the national capital. As per the timeline projected by the government this year, the joint survey by the PWD and the chief medical officers should have been completed by April 30.
“We have been asking the government to provide us with more doctors so that the demand can be met. The existing number is already overburdened with the patients,” said a senior doctor posted at one of the clinics.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is examining records related to the Mohalla Clinics project in Delhi based on a complaint about irregularities after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged that officials were being harassed. Several doctors and mid-ranking officials of the Delhi Health Department have been questioned, CBI officers said.
The agency said the investigation was part of a preliminary enquiry registered on charges of alleged irregularities in sanctioning of primary healthcare centres in various colonies. The preliminary enquiry was registered on the recommendation of former Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Najeeb Jung, in 2016, they added.
Every mohalla clinic has a doctor, a technician for uploading patients’ Aadhaar details and a lab assistant for collecting blood samples and disbursing medicines. The clinics stay open from 8 am till 2 pm.
PLANNING AHEAD
The AAP government, in its 2018-2019 budget, has proposed setting up of 1,000 such clinics in the national capital
