JOIN USNamma Clinics to start across Karnataka by December 15: Sudhakar
Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said that 438 'Namma Clinics' would start operations across Karnataka by December 15.
These include 243 clinics in Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits, one each in new ward of the city.
Sudhakar was speaking after inspecting the model Namma Clinic established at Mahalakshmipuram in the city.
Each clinic will have a doctor, nurse, lab technician and a group D employee. Sudhakar said that 160 doctors had already been appointed to the BBMP clinics, and that the rest are expected to be appointed by the end of this week. Other staff have already been appointed, he said.
Namma Clinics are being established in government-owned or rented buildings with area of 1,000-1,200 sq ft. The government has spent Rs 17.52 crore to establish the clinics, and will incur an annual cost of Rs 138 crore for staff salaries. So far, Rs 155 crore have been spent on the clinics, the minister said.
The government is providing medical facilities, like primary health centres and Namma Clinics, to meet the healthcare needs of the urban poor, especially those below the poverty line. They also aim to create awareness on government healthcare schemes as well as yoga, 'Dhyana' and food habits, Sudhakar added.
He said the tender process for selecting the new service provider for 108 ambulance service would be completed in two months. The tender does not include bike ambulance services. However, the government plans to start air ambulance services for patients and to transport organs for transplant, and the details are yet to be finalised, he said.
He said that food safety officials had been gathering information on nutritional supplements used in gyms, and that action would be taken against those selling poor-quality supplements.