Routine audits at Delhi’s Mohalla clinics soon

Officials said an internal audit was essential to ensure that the quality of services at these clinics is maintained.

The Delhi government is considering the formation of a panel to monitor the functioning of Mohalla Clinics in order to ensure that these local healthcare facilities maintain the required stock of medicines, consumables and equipment, senior officials of the health department said on Tuesday.

New Delhi, India - Oct. 19, 2019: A view of a newly inaugurated Mohalla clinic at Gujjar Chowk, Sangam Vihar in New Delhi, India, on Saturday, October 19, 2019. The Delhi Government has inaugurated 100 new Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics in Delhi. (Photo by Sanchit Khanna/ Hindustan Times) (Sanchit Khanna/HT PHOTO)

The officials said that an internal audit was conducted for all the mohalla clinics in the city, and it was decided that routine inspections were essential to ensure that the quality of services at these clinics is maintained.

“Our aim is to provide the best medical facilities to people near their house so that for they do not have to rely on big hospitals for routine health problems. Such routine audits will help us monitor the status of medicine stocks, manpower and also the quality of infrastructure,” said a senior official who asked not to be named.

On Tuesday, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted that the BJP-led central government was trying to stop several Delhi government initiatives, including the free services at Mohalla Clinics.

“They stopped the yoga class. Now they are going to stop the free medicines-tests being available in mohalla clinics and hospitals and will harass guest teachers and raw employees. Do not worry Delhiites, they may shoot as many arrows at you as they want, your son Kejriwal will stand will protect you like a shield,” Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi.

Delhi currently has 519 mohalla clinics across the city, with the government planning to add another 100 such facilities in areas where these state-run local health clinics are not available.

Officials in the health department added that the government is working to digitise all Mohalla Clinics.

“Many (Mohalla) clinics have been fully digitised, with information about patients and their medical histories collected using tablets are available at clinics. With more clinics being digitised, doctors will be able to learn about their patients’ medical histories with a single click. This will help doctors in providing better diagnosis and treatment,” said the above quoted health official.