K'taka govt simultaneously launches 114 'Namma Clinics' across State

BENGALURU: The Karnataka government on Wednesday simultaneously launched 114 'Namma Clinics', which would provide primary healthcare services to vulnerable sections, especially the urban poor and daily wage workers, across the state. The Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai inaugurated a Namma Clinic at Bhairidevarakoppa in Hubballi of Dharwad district in the presence of Health Minister K Sudhakar, among others.

Twelve types of health services will be available at these centres free of cost, and each clinic will consist of a medical officer, a nurse, lab technician, and a Group D employee, an official statement had said earlier. Health Minister K Sudhakar said the government is working to operationalise all 438 Namma Clinics across the State as announced earlier and all the remaining ones will be functional by January-end.

A total of 243 of Namma Clinics will be functioning under the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) area, and work is underway to make them operational for public service by January second week, a statement said.

Each Namma Clinic is expected to cater to a population of 10,000 to 20,000. The 12 kinds of services include pregnancy, postnatal, neonatal care, childhood and adolescent care, universal immunisation services, family welfare, contraceptive, infectious disease management, common and minor ailment care and diabetes, it added.