BENGALURU: Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao plans to extend timings for a few Namma Clinics in Bengaluru as a pilot initiative.
Gundu Rao said, “We plan to change the timings of the clinic making it available from 12 noon till 8 pm in a few centres making it more accessible to the people. We will notice the response and functioning of the clinics.”
An order is expected to be issued soon in this regard. This decision is being taken keeping in mind the convenience of the citizens. “Evening is better for patients to come for consultations after completing their work and house chores,” Rao added. Currently, Namma Clinics run from 9 am to 4:30 pm from Monday to Saturday.
His decision has come after a controversy that sparked after his recent visit to the AAP-led government’s Mohalla Clinic in Delhi on Friday. After his visit, he tweeted, “Visited a Mohalla Clinic in Delhi with hardly any people there. Our clinics in Karnataka have more facilities including a laboratory to do immediate testing for patients.” He even called it “overhyped” and said, “I came back feeling disappointed”.
To verify Gundu Rao’s claims, AAP members in Bengaluru visited the primary health centre in his constituency, Gandhinagar, and found that both the public health centre and Namma Clinics were situated adjacent to each other and had been shut for quite some time.
The clinics started by the previous BJP-led government have gained a lot of criticism since their inauguration. Health experts called them gimmicky and stated that the government should have invested in improving facilities at the already present health centres instead of starting these Namma Clinics.