Specialist evening clinics started in Urban Primary Health Centres

HYDERABAD: Patients, especially those who hail from underprivileged backgrounds, need not wait in serpentine queues at tertiary care hospitals for consultations or diagnostic tests anymore.State Health Department has launched ‘Specialist Evening Clinics’ at some Urban Primary Health Centres (UPHC), under which gynecologists, pediatricians, psychiatrists, would be available between 4 p,m and 8 p.m everyday, except on weekends.

Women, children, people with mental illness, or general sickness, can meet gynecologists, pediatricians, psychiatrists, general physicians posted at UPHCs. However, only one specialist per UPHC is appointed.
The specialists services were started on pilot project basis at 11 UPHCs in the city three days ago and by February 10, the department will be opening such clinics at 20 Health Centres.  

Dr Yogita Rana, Commissioner of Health and Family Welfare Department and Mission Director, National Health Mission, said that since evening is the time when elders return from work and children from schools, evening clinics and specialist evening clinics will be convenient for people to consult doctors.
She said that rather than medical officers referring patients to tertiary care hospitals, specialists will check patients under the same roof.

“They don’t need to wait in long queues for consultation, to collect medicines or for diagnostic tests. People don’t have to travel far distances to consult specialists,” Dr Yogita Rana said.Hyderabad Districts Medical and Health Officer Dr J Venkat said that apart from blood, urine samples for diagnostic tests, ECG tests too will be done at UPHCs. Officials from the Dealth department said that since the specialists are accessible at their local Health Centres, people will not postpone consulting doctors until the health worsens.  

Monthly specialist camps

Apart from this, Monthly Outreach Specialist Camps too were initiated on January 17 where either one or multiple specialists have been check patients. Besides, evening clinics, with MBBS doctors, will be opened from February 1.  While the Evening Clinics will be opened at 100 UPHCs in Hyderabad from February 1, Specialist Evening Clinics are opened only at a few.