Avail OP in corp’s health centres from 8am to 8pm

Thiruvananthapuram: All the health centres functioning under the city corporation will soon start providing OP services from morning till night. The health standing committee which has prepared an action plan to upgrade 29 health centres run by the city corporation has proposed that the health centres presently functioning on shift basis shall provide OP from 8 am to 8 pm.
The action plan reportedly inspired by the Delhi model of Mohalla clinics being implemented by AAP will come up for the corporation council’s approval on Thursday. Mohalla clinics were envisaged by the AAP government to offer access to free healthcare within a km radius in various localities and were meant to free people from tiresome queues in big hospitals.
It also proposes recruitment of doctors, staff nurse, pharmacist and other staff and opening of additional health centres in the city as part of catering to the needs of marginalised communities. The action plan for health centres will be implemented at a cost of Rs 18 crore.
The city corporation will recruit 32 doctors, 49 nurses, 29 pharmacists as well as the required number of lab technicians, cleaning staff and provide necessary medical equipment, sanitation facilities and other amenities at a cost of Rs 18 crore. With the additional appointment of doctors and nurses, the corporation will spend around Rs 4 crore annually as remuneration. Palliative nurses will also be recruited for the purpose.
The civic body runs two taluk hospitals, 10 primary health centres, 14 urban health centres, two community health centres and one clinic at present. In addition to this, 12 Ayurveda hospitals, one siddha hospital and 14 homeopathy hospitals function under the administration of the city corporation.
According to the action plan, up gradation of facilities in the corporation’s health centres will make health care more accessible and would ensure early intervention to counter lifestyle diseases.
With the current infrastructure, the corporation offers OP facilities to an average of 3,500 patients daily. The present timing of urban primary health centres is from 1 pm to 6 pm and in primary health centres and community health centres, the timing is from 8 am to 6 pm. In many places, the service is either available only at noon or in the morning. This deprives the marginalised community of medical care. The action plan notes that such a situation happens due to lack of full time service facility, dearth of manpower and infrastructure and lack of adequate number of health facilities in proximity to the residences of marginalised communities.
The document notes that owing to the patient volume, big hospitals in the government sector are unable to attend to the needs of everyone and hence people from humble backgrounds are forced to pay huge amounts in private hospitals even for mild ailments. The corporation plans to reach out to people in slums, coastal areas, street dwellers and those living on puramboku with the upgraded health care facilities.