Shortage of Doctors: Karnataka Namma clinics to be launched in phased manner

Bengaluru: Concerned over the complaints from doctors regarding low salaries or incentives offered to them, the long-promised project to launch 438 Namma clinics by December 15 has been delayed and will be launched in a phased manner due to a shortage of doctors at the clinics. 

The project was 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.

However, concerns from the doctor regarding the pay scale have reached the corridors of the government and in response to the matter, the health minister has assured to enhance the remuneration (either salaries or incentives) of doctors with state funds.

Explaining more, he said that due to the project being under the national programme, the issue regarding the salary has come up in the front but the state government will bear the additional expenditure and they are confident of filling all the posts by next month.

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Earlier, the Health Minister announced the launch of 438 Namma clinics in Karnataka by December 15, and out of these, 243 Namma Clinics will begin operating within BBMP limits.

Now, the project has been planned to be launched in a phased manner, 100 Namma Clinics will be launched in rural areas by December 14. And in the first week of January, another 100 will be opened in Bengaluru. By the end of January, all 438 clinics in the state will start functioning.

"By February end, we plan to complete NCD screening for the state's entire population by involving Namma Clinics. The clinics will screen for diabetes, hypertension and cancer. Even though they will not have cancer screening equipment, they will collect patient information and refer cases," said the Minister in an interview with DH.

Each Namma clinic will consist of a doctor, a nurse, a lab technician, and a group D employee. Each ward of the city will consist of at least one Namma Clinic and will operate like PHC. In addition to providing healthcare, the Namma Clinics will focus on creating awareness about government healthcare schemes.

As per the guidelines, PHCs in accordance with the population exist in rural areas. However, there aren't enough government healthcare centres in urban areas to cater to the population. Hence, this new scheme has been launched. The Karnataka government under the leadership of Chief Minister Shri Basavaraj Bommai and the Union government under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi have provided complete support for the new initiative.

The Namma Clinics are being established in government buildings and rented buildings which have an area of 1000-1200 Sq.ft and will also create awareness about Yoga, Pranayama, Dhyana, and food habits at clinics.

When asked about the BBMP facing difficulty in hiring doctors for these clinics due to low salaries, Sudhakar said "The salary offered in Namma Clinics is way lower than that paid to doctors in other Health Department programmes. So we are planning to increase the pay. Where no doctors are available, the BBMP has requested us to provide doctors who have to do compulsory rural service."

According to TOI sources, the health department has completed two rounds of recruitment but the number of doctors appointed is not adequate and there are still vacancies to be filled.

It is reported that 80% of the positions have been filled in the districts, but only 50% in Bengaluru, where doctors are being offered low salaries. Therefore, in an interview with TH, the minister said "Most of the positions of doctors at the district level have been filled. The issue is only in Bengaluru, and we have been able to recruit doctors only for 160 of the 243 clinics here so far. Earlier, we had offered a salary of ₹35,000 but now we have increased it to ₹43,000. I appeal to young doctors to not just consider the monetary aspect. There is so much experience and job satisfaction that you can get."

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