Hyderabad: Telangana minister of health, T. Harish Rao on Friday inaugurated 32 Basti Dawakhanas (neighborhood clinics), the total number of these primary health centres has now moved up to 290.
After the inauguration of a Basti Dawkhana at Shantiniketan Colony, Old Bowenpally, the minister addressed the media and said, the Telangana state government has decided to establish 144 additional Basti Dawakhana in Telangana’s urban centres and 92 more in GHMC areas.
The dawakhanas consist of services such as OPD consultation, teleconsultation, basic lab diagnosis, treatment of minor illnesses, and immunization. Other services provided include prenatal and postnatal care, family planning, and screening for anaemia, blood pressure, and blood sugar. These neighbourhood clinics will also organize cancer awareness and other programs.
The minister said, “the concept of Basthi Dawakhanas and offering nearly 57 different kinds of free diagnostic services along with free consultation with a doctor has caught on among the public. So far, 60.18 lakh individuals have utilized the services of Basthi Dawakhanas. On average, each Basthi Dawakhana provides services to 100 local patients on a daily basis,”
Harish Rao expressed his views on the importance of these health centres saying, “It is the aim of chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR) to provide healthcare services to urban poor on par with corporate hospitals. At the local level, Basthi Dawakhanas will provide primary healthcare facilities while tertiary care facilities will be provided at super-speciality hospitals”
Basthi Dawakhanas are established to meet the healthcare needs of the urban population with a focus on the urban poor.
While addressing media Harish Rao also commented on the new COVID-19 variant Omicron. He said the extensive use of masks, physical distancing, and vaccines are the only options left to curb the spread of new variants.
“In Telangana, 91% of eligible people have received the first jab of COVID-19 vaccine, and 47% have completed their second jab.” We have a buffer stock of 80 lakh Covid vaccinations, and I urge everybody who has not yet been vaccinated to do so as soon as possible,” he added.