12 Aapla Davakhanas to start in Pune district
The health clinics are equipped with an outpatient department (OPD), free medicine, free laboratory testing, check-up facility for pregnant women, vaccination, eye-checking facility, special referral service
PUNE: The district of Pune will get 12 Aapla Davakhanas or health clinics named after Shiv Sena founder, Hindu Hriday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray, as part of a state-wide move to strengthen health infrastructure as a top priority of the government. Eleven out of the 12 health clinics are ready in terms of infrastructure, manpower and machinery and will be virtually inaugurated on May 1. Whereas the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC)-run Aapla Davakhana inside a school premises at Wagholi will be delayed for a couple of weeks. Of the 12 health clinics, 10 are located in Pune rural and one each in the PMC and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC).
The health clinics are equipped with an outpatient department (OPD), free medicine, free laboratory testing, check-up facility for pregnant women, vaccination, eye-checking facility, special referral service (specialist doctors) and counselling centre for mental health-related issues, the officials said.
Sunil Jadhav, extension officer of the Gram Panchayats in Pune district, said that there are around 1,403 Gram Panchayats in Pune out of which 120 big Gram Panchayats will provide healthcare through these clinics in a unique manner. “We had visited Delhi to see how the ‘Mohalla Clinics’ operated there. In our clinics, we have teamed up with five specialised doctors (eyes, diabetes, gastrointestinal disease and cancer) who will provide services on an honorary basis. Patients who need further management at hospitals will be taken to hospitals that provide treatment free-of-cost or at a nominal cost.”
Jadhav informed that they have already spoken to such hospitals. “The funds needed for payments to doctors and the treatment will be provided by us through the Gram Panchayat Fund and with the help of donors and private sponsors.”
A senior officer of the PMC on condition of anonymity said that while the PMC was not part of the state-wide project to begin with, it wanted to start an Aapla Davakhana at Wagholi for which space was identified inside a school that belongs to the Zilla Parishad (ZP) Pune. “This location is currently under transition and has been selected as there is scope to have a different entry and exit for the hospital and school. The number of the students attending this school is also less. The tender process for the infrastructure repair and development work has already been initiated by the PMC,” the official said.
Ayush Prasad, chief executive officer of the ZP Pune, informed that four teams have been constituted to carry out inspection of these clinics and check preparedness of the setups. “The procurement of medicines and medical equipment at these facilities has been completed. The manpower along with medical officers, nursing staff and healthcare staff has been employed. We outsource the procurement of housekeeping staff and class 4 staff,” Prasad said.
Prasad further informed that adequate arrangement has been made for water, electricity supply, computers and infrastructure. “The referral plans for the patients diagnosed with ailments that need medical care at higher facilities have also been prepared,” Prasad said.
The state government in October last year decided to set up 700 Aapla Davakhanas in the state named after Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray to strengthen the health infrastructure as a top priority of the government. In Pune district, 11 locations were identified for starting the clinics. The PMC was not part of this project but the civic body still decided to start one Aapla Davakhana inside a school premises at Wagholi.
