Karnataka: Namma Clinics open but face shortage of doctors, medical infrastructure

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government's initiative of Namma clinics, which are health centers to be established in Bengaluru with free healthcare services, have faced a setback after various issues like shortage of doctors, staff, medical infrastructure was reported from a number of newly established clinics.

The clinics were announced in the 2022-23 state budget and were proposed to come up in all 243 wards of Bengaluru. However, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has allocated buildings and begun these clinics only in 208 of the 243 wards. 

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Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported about the 114 Namma clinics launched by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai in different districts across the state in the presence of Health Minister K Sudhakar. The project had been announced by State Health Minister K Sudhakar to address the healthcare needs of the poor, especially people falling below the poverty line and people living in huts. 

The health centres would be providing 12 types of health services free of cost, and each clinic would have a medical officer, a nurse, a lab technician, and a Group D employee. The health services provided by the clinic include pregnancy, postnatal, neonatal care, childhood and adolescent care, universal immunisation services, family welfare, contraceptive, infectious disease management, standard and minor ailment care, and diabetes. 

Various civic officials have complained about the shortage of doctors. Commenting on this, a BBMP official told the Hindu, "The civic body has advertised for the job positions multiple times but has not been able to recruit doctors for all the clinics. The other clinics in all the wards will be opened in phases once the recruitment is completed." 

Medical officers pointed out that there are no Group D workers in the clinics, which is affecting the functioning of the hospital. There is a shortage of staff nurses and lab technicians at many of these clinics. 

For instance, a medical officer from Shantala Nagar-based Namma clinic told the New Indian Express that they are in need of a staff nurse. Similarly, a medical officer from Jeevan Bima Nagar clinic said that they do not have a Group D employee to keep the premises clean. 

Commenting that a clinic was inaugurated but never opened to the public, a resident of Sanjaynagar said, "Sometimes, when the shutters are up, civil works are underway. When I asked the officials, they said medical instruments are yet to reach the clinic, and doctors are yet to be appointed. Then why inaugurate it? They should have instead developed the Primary Health Centre (PHC)." 

The BBMP, to address the shortage of doctors, have been planning to recruit doctors under the Karnataka Compulsory Medical Services Act which necessitates one-year compulsory service in different types of government health institutions for all postgraduates and undergraduates passing out from Karnataka. They are also thinking about making appointments under National Medical Guidelines in which the doctors are required to work at state hospitals after completing their undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. 

Further, there is a shortage of medical facilities in the clinics. Various centres have reported shortage of mattresses which are managed by putting bed spreads on table. However, refuting these allegations, Dr KV Thrilok Chandra, special commissioner (health), Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike said that all the clinics are well-equipped. 

Justifying the irregular appointments, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Chief Health Officer Dr AN Balasundar attributed the reason to lack of time, stating that they were given only a three-day notice to inaugurate all the 108 clinics in Bengaluru. He said that they had completely prepared the clinics except for appointing Group D workers in order to avoid the expense of paying them before the inauguration. 

However, he added that they are currently identifying and recruiting staffers and these problems are temporary since the clinics were inaugurated recently only. He assured that the clinics would begin running smoothly within a few weeks. 

However, the project has been criticized for its similarity with the Public Health Centres (PHCs). An official said, "There is no clarity on the role of PHCs and Namma Clinics. There are no PHCs in any of the 198 wards, while there is a proposal to expand it to the newly formed wards as well, taking the number to 243." 

Meanwhile, another official said, "These clinics will provide services for detecting non-communicable diseases and referral for higher treatment to specialists. All appointments will be on temporary terms. The clinics will reduce the burden on the existing health facilities in urban areas." 

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