Karnataka govt to open 'Namma Clinics' in the state

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government will open 438 ‘Namma Clinics’ across the state of which 243 will be in Bengaluru, Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar said on Thursday.

The minister was speaking to reporters after inspecting a model ‘Namma Clinic’ unit in Mahalakshmi Layout in the city.

”We will set up 438 Namma Clinics across Karnataka. Of them 243 will be in Bengaluru. Each clinic will consist of a doctor, a nurse, a lab technician and a group D employee,” he said.

Sudhakar said the appointment of 160 doctors have been completed. The Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has issued a notification to appoint doctors for ‘Namma Clinics’, which is expected to be completed by the end of this week, he said. The appointments for the remaining staff have been completed for the 243 ‘Namma Clinics’ in the BBMP limits, he added.

”The programme has been focused to address the healthcare needs of urban poor, especially people falling below the poverty line and those living in huts. Each ward of the city will consist of at least one Namma Clinic and will operate like PHCs. In addition to providing healthcare, the clinics will focus on creating awareness about government healthcare schemes,” Sudhakar explained.

As per the guidelines, PHCs in accordance with the population exist in rural areas. However, there aren’t enough government healthcare centres in urban areas to cater to the population. Hence, this new scheme has been launched, the minister pointed out.

Sudhakar said the clinics are being established in government and rented buildings, which have an area of 1,000-1,200 Sq.ft.

”The government will incur a cost of Rs 138 crore to maintain the staff each year,” he added.

According to him, the clinics will also create awareness about Yoga, Pranayama, Dhyana and food habits. Apparently taking a cue from Delhi government’s Mohalla Clinic, the health department aims to set up ‘Namma Clinic’ in each ward of Bengaluru, a health department official said.