HYDERABAD: Hyderabad is set to get another 100 Basti Dawakhanas in the next two months, MAUD Minister KT Rama Rao said on Friday. The health facilities would also be set up at 2BHK Dignity Housing sites for the convenience of residents, he said, instructing officials concerned to ensure that every division, which has a huge population of urban poor in the GHMC limits, has one or more Basti Dawakhanas.
The Basti Dawakhanas, introduced by the Telangana government to cater to the medical needs of the poor, have been a success and are playing a crucial role in public healthcare. Kicked off as a pilot project, the initiative has expanded rapidly in no time, thanks to the people’s encouraging response to the primary health facilities being provided at the clinics, Rama Rao said.
The Minister held a review meeting on the functioning of Basti Dawakhanas in Hyderabad on Friday. He said the State government will set up a few more clinics and increase the number to 300. Currently, 197 Basti Dawakhanas are providing health services to the poor in Hyderabad. Happy with the good response that the initiative has received, Rama Rao said this is leading to an increased demand for a few more Basti Dawakhanas.
Every Basti Dawakhana sees over 100 outpatients a day, and a total of 25,000 citizens avail the OP services daily across the city. The clinics provide 53 different kinds of free services, such as OPD consultation, basic lab diagnosis, medicines, antenatal/postnatal care, and screening for non-communicable diseases such as BP and diabetes. Rama Rao said 5,000 types of tests are conducted, especially for the urban poor, at these Basti Dawakhanas and other PHCs. Test results are sent to the patients over mobile phone, he said.