Children below 12 years and women will get free of cost treatment at these facilities, he said while inaugurating four 'mahila special mohalla clinics'.

A flagship initiative of the Kejriwal government, the mohalla clinic system is aimed at boosting primary healthcare in the city.

According to the Outcome Budget presented in the assembly on March 25, on an average, one mohalla clinic handles 116 patients a day and together 520 these facilities have over 60,000 patients a day.

"Four mahila mohalla clinics, special clinics for women where gynaecological services, tests and medicines will be available free of cost for them and children under the age of 12 years, are being opened today. In the first phase, 100 such clinics will be opened for women and children," Kejriwal said.

The chief minister, however, did not comment on a timeline on the opening of these clinics.

"It was felt that there needed to be some facilities that are exclusively for women and therefore, based on the needs of women in Delhi, such facilities are being opened on a large-scale," he said.

The first four clinics have been started at Basti Vikas Kendra JJ Camp Moti Lal Nehru Camp in Munirka, Sector-4 DIZ area, Sapera Basti in Kondli and DJB Sewage Pumping Station Batla House in Okhla.

"This mahila mohalla clinic model is the first of its kind innovation in our country. Only women and children aged under 12 will be treated at mahila mohalla clinics. All employees at these clinics will be females and like normal mohalla clinics, all treatment will be free of cost here," Kejriwal said.

In addition to the 239 tests done at mohalla clinics, all tests related to women and adolescent healthcare will be done at these new facilities, he said.

"Delhi has always had big hospitals, but citizens would get hassled waiting in lines even for treatment for cough and cold. Mohalla clinics helped change this forever. They would need to visit these big hospitals, often having to wait in long queues over there and also leading to overcrowding at these hospitals. They would also not get medicines free of cost and therefore, had to spend for these and other facilities," Kejriwal said.

"We also noticed that doctors in most of mohalla clinics are men and therefore, women may not feel as comfortable as they would with doctors of their own gender. They are also likely to have some health issues that the men doctors may not directly relate to," he said.

Therefore, there was a demand from women in the city that there should be some mohalla clinics that are exclusively for them, Kejriwal said.

The mahila mohalla clinics will be open between 8 am and 2 pm from Monday to Saturday.

With PTI inputs.