Each mohalla clinic to have 5-member panel

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 16

Health Minister Satyendar Jain today said the Delhi Government would soon set up a five-member managing committee in each mohalla clinic with 100 health volunteers attached to them to manage and monitor the work in the clinics.

Under the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s flagship “mohalla clinics” project, Jain said each such committee will be responsible for overseeing the affairs of the respective clinic.

Hundred volunteers will be given the task of managing the entire work in the clinics at an annual honorarium of Rs 3 lakh so that these clinics are able to run effectively, added Jain while noting that this in turn will go on to help in plugging out any possible deterioration in their services.

However, the minister clarified that doctors and support staff in mohalla clinics are not paid ‘salary’, but the government rewards their performance with fixed incentives to encourage them to provide better and efficient medicare to the people.

The Delhi Government would also set up 24x7 call centres within these mohalla clinics through which patients can make a phone call and seek emergency medical consultation including prescriptions in case the patient is unable to negotiate the distance for medical services, said Health Minister Satyendar Jain.

Jain added that the Delhi Government would extend health insurance facilities for approximate two crores to Delhites for whom it would also issue the health cards in which patients' medical records would be available and the data registered in such cards would be owned by the patient alone and that no other authorities would have its ownership.

The Arvind Kejriwal government has promised to construct 1,000 mohalla clinics across the national capital to ensure basic health care is available for citizens free of cost within localities.

The 1,000 such neighbourhood facilities along with polyclinics and super-speciality hospitals form the three layers of the AAP government’s three-tier health care reforms.