All south Delhi wards to get primary health care centre, civic agency says

Among the areas identified for the project are Sagarpur, Mohan Garden, Tughlaqabad extension, Goyla Dairy and Keshopur.

The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has approved a proposal for setting up primary health care facilities in civic wards which still have no such units, even as a few officials pointed out that the shortage of health workers may pose a hurdle in staffing these new units.

The new policy calls for alternating some staff in nearby health centres as an interim measure to tackle the staff crunch. (HT File)

Col (retd) BK Oberoi, the standing committee chairman, said that primary health care facilities, like dispensaries and mother and child welfare (MCW) centres, can be accommodated in existing municipal buildings such as community halls and office complexes. “In the first phase, we have taken up 10 such wards for setting up health care units. Every left out ward needs to be covered,” the chairman said.

Among the areas identified for the project are Sagarpur, Mohan Garden, Tughlaqabad extension, Goyla Dairy and Keshopur. A senior official from the health department said that some of the dispensaries will be set up in porta cabins or modified shipping containers due to space constraints.

According to the Centre’s urban primary health care centre guidelines, the civic body will require at least one doctor, one pharmacist, one ward nurse and two multi-task workers for each unit.

“The total financial implication in terms of recurring costs for each dispensary will be around ₹58.5 lakh per annum. For the time being, eight dispensaries and two primary health care centres are being opened. The primary concern will be shortage of healthcare staff,” said a senior municipal official, requesting anonymity.

The new policy, which was cleared by the standing committee of the south MCD on Tuesday, calls for alternating some staff in nearby health centres as an interim measure to tackle the staff crunch. It also said the hospital administration department is planning a separate proposal for creation of new posts such as doctors, pharmacists and nurses to meet the staff shortfall.

The staff and financial crunch had come to the fore earlier when the civic body was unable to expand its services in its Kalkaji colony hospital.

Pointing to the shortage of doctors, funds and land, Prem Chauhan, the leader of the opposition, said that the civic body should coordinate with the Delhi government. “There are wards which are full of unauthorised colonies and the municipal corporation owns no land in such areas. Who will bear the additional financial burden? The civic body will later argue that the government is not providing them funds,” he said.

Last month, municipal commissioner Gyanesh Bharti pointed out that setting up new healthcare facilities without creating new posts may not be an easy. “Any additional requirement of health staff while operationalising new facilities puts an undue pressure on the department and hampers the normal day-to-day functioning of existing healthcare facilities. The department has to mobilise staff from existing units on alternate days as interim arrangement. Consequently, the quality of services gets compromised,” he said in a letter to the standing committee on September 14, 2021.

Col (retd) Oberoi said the civic body will tackle the problems. “In the interim, the corporation will divert health workers from nearby health care centres and ask them to alternate between the two centres,” he said.