The Namma Clinics in Bengaluru are set to open soon, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials said. The civic agency aims to launch 108 Namma Clinics by Republic Day on January 26, BBMP Special Commissioner (Health) Dr KV Thrilok Chandra told The New Indian Express. The clinics will come up in 108 out of 243 wards of the BBMP.
The government had initially planned to open all 438 clinics across the state in August 2022, but faced delays due to a shortage of doctors and difficulty in finding suitable spaces for the clinics. Namma Clinics, which are modeled after Delhi's 'Mohalla Clinics', will provide 12 services free of cost and are expected to serve a population of 15,000 to 20,000. These services include basic health checkups, diagnostic tests, and basic treatments for common illnesses, as well as vaccination and health education.
Thrilok Chandra told The New Indian Express that the launch date for the clinics will be announced soon. He also added that they are taking care of the shortage of doctors, and once the 108 clinics become operational, they will launch the remaining soon. This is a project with a total cost of Rs 150 crore, and most of the clinics will start working in government buildings. 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, diabetes, blood pressure management, chronic diseases, oral ailments, etc.