HYDERABAD: Encouraged by the good response to ‘Basthi Dawakhanas’ received from people, the poor and slum-dwellers in particular, in Greater Hyderabad, the state municipal administration department has decided to set up similar medical facilities for poor people in all urban areas of the state.
Director of municipal administration T K Sreedevi issued a circular last week to all municipal commissioners in the state to identify suitable locations for establishment of Basthi Dawakhanas (urban health and wellness centres) where there are no Urban Primary Health Centres (UPHCs) and to submit the information in the prescribed format within 15 days.
As there is a dire need to bring medical care closer to weaker sections of society, the DMA wants to set up Basthi Dawakhanas in slums in coordination with the department of health, medical and family welfare. Basthi Dawakhanas will provide basic clinical out-patient services and will also build the referral linkage between the UPHCs and other major health facilities. Depending on the spatial distribution of the population, the Basthi Dawakhana will cater approximately to people numbering 5,000 to 10,000. At present, there does not exist a sub-centre level mechanism in urban areas and UPHCs are the first point of contact for citizens.
The proposed centres will facilitate and help citizens access a formalised health care network in slums. The dawakhanas will provide a defined package of services as close to home as possible for vulnerable population and will act as the first point of contact for people needing medical care, and will be attached to the nearest UPHC.
The services they will provide include OPD (consultation), basic lab diagnosis, drug, contraceptive dispensing, treatment of acute simple illnesses, immunisation services, antenatal and postnatal care, family planning counselling and contraception services, screening for anaemia, screening for non-communicable diseases such as blood pressure, blood sugar and cancers, etc.
The central government has approved the plan for establishment of several health centres in the state under the National Urban Health Mission (NUHM). The maximum number of those approved by the Union government were allotted to the GHMC.
Initially, of the 40 centres proposed to be set up at the sub-centre level (slums) in GHMC limits, 17 have started functioning and their services are being availed by poor people who cannot afford expensive treatment.
Reducing expenses
These centres will be located inside slums to meet health care needs of urban poor and reduce their out-of-pocket expenses. These slums will not be covered by any existing or proposed UPHC