JOIN USEven at 2pm, patient were seen trickling in at the Jangpura mohalla clinic a day on Friday.
The one-day-old clinic was to close for the day at 1pm. But the timings had to be extended due to the rush, said Dr V S Chauhan, the doctor posted at the clinic.
Dr Chauhan saw 48 patients since 9 am a day on the second day of the clinic.
“I didn’t even get time to drink tea. Since its launch yesterday, a lot of people from the locality are coming with problems like chronic diseases, thyroid, diabetes, hypertension, and weakness,” he said.
A woman, waiting for her turn at the clinic, said, “Agar sham tak bhi khula rahega toh bhi log aate rahenge (People will even come if its opens till evening).”
Her statement highlights the lack of basic healthcare facilities for those who cannot afford treatment at private hospitals.
“There is no government hospital or dispensary nearby. We had to go to a private hospital each time someone had fever. This dispensary is such a relief. What else does a poor man want,” said Tulsiram, a labourer, whose wife came to see the doctor for blood pressure-related problem.
The clinic is located in the bylanes of Hari Nagar in Jangpura in a rented room at the ground floor of a house.
The facility, however, is rudimentary. It has a table, a stool and a few couches for patients. One part of the table is covered with the stock of medicines the clinic was supplied with.
With no proper storage facility, the doctor said the facility would be improved. The clinic is also yet to receive a dedicated bed for examining patients.
“It will take time as many such clinics are running simultaneously. Till now, we have a stock of 81 medicines. The government has promised to increase it after some time,” said Chauhan.
He added that the key of making the project a success is taking the feedback from doctors working at these clinics.
“They should collect our responses on things like which medicines are required and which are not. There is no proper feedback mechanism till now on what we actually need, but it (mohalla clinic project) is a good start,” he said.
Hoardings will be put up in Jangpura soon so that more people are aware of the launch of the mohalla clinic, said an employee at the clinic.
The government has tied up with a private laboratory for conducting 200 tests available at these clinics.
Though the facility was launched on Thursday, along with 21 others across the city, its formal inauguration will take place on April 6.