State budget: Namma Clinic, Mobile Clinics on the cards

Kumaran P | NT

The importance of local health facilities takes a big leap in the State budget announced by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday. With Covid-19 having wrecked the lives of lakhs of citizens in the State, the CM announced the setting up of 438 ‘Namma Clinics’ in major cities of the State. The CM of Karnataka said, “They will be established in all wards of Bengaluru. In these clinics, services of detection of non-communicable diseases and of referral for higher treatment to specialists will be provided.”

Bommai said, “Our government has given top priority to the management of Covid-19. A supplementary grant of Rs 2,240 crore has been earmarked to provide essential facilities for effective management of the third wave. In total, more than 10 crore doses of vaccinations have been given.”

“As per Sustainable Development Goals-2030, the maternal mortality rate needs to be brought down to less than 70 and infant mortality rate to less than 10. Our government will take all necessary steps to achieve these goals,” he added.

Not just that, Mobile Clinics will be established under the scheme Mukyamantri Arogya Vahini at a cost of Rs 11 crore in Bidar, Chamarajanagara, Haveri and Chikkamagalur districts to provide “excellent” medical services at the doorsteps of people living in rural areas.

In other major plans for the healthcare sector, Bommai said 300 Women’s Health Centres will be established in the year 2022-23 under National Health Mission. They will provide advice to womenrelated health issues and also function as women welfare centres. For providing wellequipped medical facilities at the taluka level, seven taluk hospitals will be upgraded to 100-bed facilities.

The provision of services of free dialysis will be further strengthened by increasing the existing 30,000 dialysis cycles per month to 60,000 cycles. For this purpose, an additional grant of Rs 20 crore will be made. Cardiac-related treatment will be provided at the taluka level itself for rural people by mapping 75 taluk hospitals of the State with Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research. In order to start postgraduate medical courses at district level, government hospitals with more than 200 beds will be converted to teaching hospitals after obtaining approval of the NMC. In the current year, postgraduate medical courses will be started in Tumkur District Government Hospital.

Action will be taken to ensure menstrual hygiene among girl students. Under the Shuchi scheme, sanitary napkins are being distributed to around 19 lakh girl students and to improvise upon this, “we will join hands with Self Help Groups to distribute menstrual cups in Dakshina Kannada and Chamarajanagara districts on an experimental basis on the lines of Madhya Pradesh”.

Mental health programmes will be organised in Kolar, Chikkaballapur and Bengaluru Urban districts with support of Nimhans to protect the mental health of public and also to bring about awareness about it. A programme to provide 76 essential lifesaving healthcare services to patients who have met with accident within 48 hours of admission to hospital will be started through Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust.

To provide quick specialist medical services at the level of taluks itself, services of expert and specialist doctors in medical universities of the same district will be provided through telemedicine. The general hospital in Shiggaon taluk, Haveri, will be upgraded to a 250-bed hospital.

For protecting eyes of senior citizens of the State who are below the poverty line, free eye checkup and if necessary surgical treatment and distribution of spectacles will be taken up under National Health Mission.

Commencing private air ambulance services will be encouraged so as to provide emergency medical services and save lives. The newly-established Ayush University in Shivamogga will be strengthened. A new Ayush Ayurveda college will be set up in Savanur taluk of Haveri district. An Ayush division will be commenced in Yadgiri.

The monthly honorarium of Asha volunteers who are working as a bridge between the community and the health department in the public health system will be increased by Rs 1,000.

Bommai said, “Our government will take up the long-pending construction work at the Rajiv Gandhi University of Medical Sciences campus in Archakarahalli at a cost of Rs 600 cr.