New Delhi, Dec 24 (IANS): A reality check on the functioning of the Delhi government’s Mohalla Clinic in the Kondli constituency in East Delhi on Tuesday bared the poor state of affairs with residents complaining about the absence of doctors and staff.

The Mohalla Clinic scheme, launched by the then Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in 2015 for doorstep delivery of health care in densely populated and economically disadvantaged areas, was criticised by Ruby Devi, a resident of the Kondli area.

The Mohalla Clinic scheme was initiated by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government to provide accessible and affordable health services to underserved populations, particularly in densely populated and economically disadvantaged areas.

"The Mohalla Clinic never opens. While clinics have been set up in many places for the show, no treatment is happening anywhere,” Ruby said, claiming that she had been told that doctors refuse to come to the clinic as Kejriwal hasn’t paid them salaries for six months.

Ruby Devi also complained that many Mohalla Clinics were in a state of disrepair or remained locked due to a lack of staff. “They have opened such clinics at so many places but they were not serving any purpose,” she told IANS.

The housewife also recalled a bad experience in one of her old visits to the clinic. “I had come to get a blood test done but I was told to leave and go to some other place,” complained Ruby Devi.

Sharing her experience she said since doctors were absent, the staff gave incomplete medicines for minor injury or fever for her children.

She also complained that women were being denied free rides in DTC buses as their drivers refuse to stop the vehicle for them at bus stops.

While the ruling AAP showcases its Mohalla Clinic scheme as a “game changer”, the Opposition BJP and the Congress target the Delhi government for their shortcomings.

Doctor and drug shortages have been major complaints against this chain of colony-based clinics.

While Mohalla Clinics were established with the intention of improving healthcare access in Delhi, they currently face significant challenges related to drug availability, staffing, administrative inefficiencies, community engagement, and sustainability that need to be addressed for them to fulfill their potential effectively.

Some Mohalla Clinics were also caught in controversy as private pathology labs engaged in conducting blood tests fudged records for multiplying their incentive from the government and entered names of ghost patients in their record books.