Delhi Government Collaborates With Charitable Clinics to Expand Health Infrastructure

Government of Delhi has decided to collaborate with charitable clinics being run by trusts and religious groups to expand the city’s health infrastructure. The health department has issued a tender inviting expression of interest for the same. // Charitable dispensaries have space and required manpower but due to the lack of medicines patients often have to suffer so the government has decided to provide free medicines to the dispensaries.

"In the first stage, we want to collaborate with at least 200 such dispensaries, but the numbers will be increased later. The idea is to add to the existing health infrastructure with limited costs," said a senior official.

Health minister Satyendar Jain said, “We have spoken to quite a few trust institutes who are eager to help. For every small cough or fever, or chronic diseases like diabetes or hypertension where patients just have to visit hospitals to get their routine medicines and for a basic health checkup, why should they have to crowd hospitals and wait in long queues? Streamlining health services will help us manage patients in hospital better.”

Doctors from the clinics would also be allowed to refer patients for diagnostic services in Delhi government hospitals and dispensaries.

Also, to take the load off emergencies in government hospitals the Health department is also revisiting a proposal that the government had made in its previous tenure to start evening OPDs in eleven government dispensaries as a pilot project.

Source-Medindia