BENGALURU: BBMP is rushing against its own deadline to open Namma Clinics in its jurisdiction. A week after issuing an ulitmatum to his officials to take steps to set up Namma Clinics in all 243 wards of the city by the first week of January and appoint doctors for them at the earliest, Palike chief commissioner Tushar Giri Nath on Wednesday said that they will be opening only 108 clinics by the first week of January.
While one doctor is required for every Namma Clinic, the civic body is finding it tough to appoint doctors.
"When we called for recruitment interviews, very few turned up. Of the 91 doctors appointed till now, 10 are from the mandatory rural service cadre," Giri Nath told TOI.
He said that 17 more doctors will be deputed to Namma Clinics from primary health centres which have more than one doctor in BBMP.
"We are also seeking resident doctors from the medical education department - postgraduates who are supposed to do a three-month community health internship. But that will be a slightly suboptimal solution because every three months they will be going out and coming in," Giri Nath added. At a meeting on December 15, where Giri Nath had set the ultimatum for his officials, special commissioner, health, BBMP Trilok Chandra had said that repair and renovation work of 243 Namma Clinics will be completed by the end of December and all 243 clinics will be ready for inauguration in the second week of January.
On December 14, health minister K Sudhaka had announced that all 243 Namma Clinics in BBMP will be launched by the end of January. According to Giri Nath, the health department has assured to give doctors for the remaining clinics in BBMP limits by January 15. While there is already a list of people available for rural service, he said they are supposed to be called for counselling. "The vacancies were not shown, and that is why they (doctors) were hesitating. Now, Namma Clinic vacancies are also being shown," he said, adding if the department provides doctors, the remaining vacancies will be filled by January third week.
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