In an unique initiative as part of its winter action plan, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government on Tuesday announced to open mohalla clinics at four major night shelters in the national capital before November 25.The mohalla clinics will be opened at night shelters located at Yamuna Pushta in east Delhi, Jama Masjid in central Delhi, Sarai Kale Khan in south Delhi and Shakur Basti in north Delhi, Delhi government officer Arunoday Prakash told IANS.The decision was taken at a review meeting on mohalla clinics, headed by Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Tuesday."In the meeting, Jain ordered the concerned agencies to deal with the issue on priority basis and open the mohalla clinics before November 25," he said.
The official said that every year hundreds of destitutes living at night shelters or on the road sides die from cold or other diseases due to lack of proper medical care. "With mohalla clinics being set up at these night shelters, the destitutes, especially during winters, would be able to get proper and timely treatment," Prakash said. The four places also have slum clusters. The clinics would benefit the persons living in the night shelters as well as the slum dwellers.At present, 107 mohalla clinics are functional in the city, and land identification for nearly 900 more have been completed.He said that automatic medicine vending machines have been opened at nine more mohalla clinics, taking the number of medicine ATMs to 10 in the city.Prakash said that till September 30, as many as 14,78,695 patients have been treated at mohalla clinics in the capital."In September, the average number of patients visiting these mohalla clinics was 141 patients per day per mohalla clinic. As many as 6,915 lab tests were also conducted in the all mohalla clinics till now," he said.