AIIMS, Haryana, Centre sign MoU to set up Innovation and Learning Centre at AIIMS New Delhi

Chandigarh: A tripartite Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) has been signed among Central Government, Haryana Government and AIIMS to set-up an Innovation and Learning Centre (ILC) at AIIMS, New Delhi. ILC is a new initiative of the Union Government to provide technical support to the state for scaling-up of Comprehensive Primary Health Care (CPHC) and to ensure quality services through the Health and Wellness Centers (HWCs).

Giving details, Ms Amneet P Kumar, Secretary Health and Mission Director National Health Mission, said that Dr Uddipan Datta, Principal Administrative Officer, National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHSRC), on behalf of the central government and Dr Chitra Sarkar, Dean Research AIIMS, have signed the memorandum in this regard. On behalf of Haryana, Ms Amneet signed the memorandum.

She said that the HWCs are conceptualized as a transformed Sub Centers and Primary Health Centers (PHCs). The linked services will have a significant emphasis on health promotion and prevention, population enumeration and registration, the creation of family health folder and follow-up of high risk cases, provision of point of care and diagnostic services, and dispensing drugs for acute and chronic conditions. Moreover, these aspects would reduce the out of pocket expenditure of poor patients, all together.

She said that as many as 408 health facilities are planned to be upgraded into HWCs in 2018-19 by the state government. Out of these 210 are Rural-PHCs, 184 Sub Centers and 14 Urban-PHCs. The HLL Lifecare Ltd (A Central Public Sector Enterprise working under the control of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India, has been entrusted with the task of up-gradation by the State Health Society (Haryana) and so far 24 HWCs have already been made operational in Haryana and work is on progress at other 35 health facilities of the state.

On this occasion, Dr Uddipan Datta said that the National Health Policy -2017 is focused on the need to provide CPHC in rural and urban areas through HWCs. The Union Government through its budget announcement in February 2017, declared inter alia provides for the establishment of 1,50,000 HWCs countrywide. He said that a package of 12 services for CPHC will be provided through a combination of home visits, outreach and facility-based services. Furthermore, different age groups for specific services will be targeted to reduce fragmentation of care. The ILC set-up by the Union Govt. at AIIMS New Delhi will provide necessary technical support to Haryana State.

Dr Chitra Sarkar said ILC is a new initiative of the Union Government to provide technical support to the State of Haryana, scaling-up of CPHC and to ensure quality services through the HWCs. Several factors would determine their functioning and effectiveness.