First polyclinic opens in East Delhi

“This clinic is part of our efforts to bring healthcare closer to your home. Now you don’t need to go to big hospitals unless you need to be admitted or during emergencies. While there is one doctor in the mohalla clinic, the polyclinic will have doctors from specialties such as orthopaedics, gynaecology and paediatrics,” said Kejriwal at the inauguration ceremony.

The clinic is located in AAP MLA and parliamentary health secretary Anil Bajpai’s Gandhi Nagar constituency.

It will be associated with Dr Hedgewar Arogya Sansthan and doctors from this hospital will go to the clinic. “This building was a khandar (ruins) till a few months ago. There are at least 100-150 such buildings that house dispensaries and are in bad shape. We will build them into similar polyclinics,” said the CM.
Kejriwal added that the budget for creating 1,000 more mohalla clinics is likely to be passed in a cabinet meeting scheduled for Tuesday. “We will probably pass the budget to open the clinics. Work will then begin immediately on building them. I hope that it will be completed in 6-8 months,” he said.

Kejriwal added that another 100-150 polyclinics will also be planned, starting with one for every assembly constituency. “Together, these will address over 90 per cent of your healthcare needs. You have seen the crowd in big government hospitals. Most of these people just go to hospitals to consult doctors. Now this can happen in these facilities which are closer to your house…,” said Kejriwal.

According to officials, the clinic saw around 600 patients on the first day. Health Minister Satyendar Jain also promised to provide diagnostic facilities including an ECG, X ray and ultrasound machines at the facility. He added that dental health facilities would also be provided in the clinic.