Most promises repeated from last year, health info system on the cards

The government is establishing a three-tier system for healthcare delivery and introducing 1,000 Mohalla Clinics in the first tier to provide basic screening and treatment.

The AAP government on Monday allotted 16% of the budget outlay — Rs 5,259 crore — to health this year, making it the second highest budget allocation for the second consecutive year.

Deputy CM Manish Sisodia during his budget speech at Delhi assembly. (DIP)

Many of the unfulfilled promises were, however, repeated from last year’s budget.

The government is establishing a three-tier system for healthcare delivery and introducing 1,000 Mohalla Clinics in the first tier to provide basic screening and treatment.

In a state that manages more than three crore OPD cases, and more than six lakh admissions each year, the need for decongesting hospitals is a must.

Though the government provided an idea in the form of Mohalla Clinics, which are designed to address basic healthcare needs such as primary screening and essential medicines for non-serious conditions where specialists are not needed, it has not been implemented as promised.

In the last financial year, the government announced setting up of 500 of these clinics, but as on date only one such clinic is operational in Peeragarhi.

The second tier is of a chain of Polyclinics, for specialist consultation. The government proposed 150 Polyclinics in the budget; however, the announcement was made last year. Three polyclinics are functional.

The third tier is hospitals. The existing hospitals are being re-modelled and new hospitals would add 10,000 beds in two years.

A ealth information management system was announced to provide people a health card with a unique identifier. This would maintain patient information online and ensure flow of information for all transactions of the citizen in the system.