From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore
Bangalore, Dec 27: Comprehensive primary health care facilities will be provided to Bangaloreans of all wards of Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) under the National Urban Health Mission (NUHM), which is being launched from New Year.
Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Gulam Nabi Azad announced that the NUHM would be launched in Bangalore in January.
The Centre is likely to provide Rs 150 crore grant under NUHM to set up comprehensive primary health centers, which are equivalent to present primary health centers (PHCs) in all BBMP limits.
The comprehensive primary health centres would cater to all diseases of urban population.
Under the NUHM, there would be 30 to 100 bed hospital in all 28 legislative assembly constituencies in the City and a major hospital (100 beds) in all eight zones. Now there are four major hospitals in four zones in the city.
Each primary care unit would cover 40,000 50,000 population. The City’s population as per the 2011 Census was 9.59 million.
The city’s population has grown by 134 per cent during 1991-2011, making it one of the fastest growing metropolitan city.
There would be a doctor, a laboratory, pharmacist and a counselor for treating patients visiting centers at the ward level to provide comprehensive primary health care under NUHM.
Currently, there are 92 PHCs in the city.
Services at the comprehensive primary health centers would be made available to all free of cost.
NUHM would be gradually extended to other city corporations of the State in the next one or two year.
The NUHM would be managed by an advisory committee headed by the Chief Minister and comprise of the State Health Minister U T Khader.
There would be a steering committee and a Bangalore health task force headed by principal secretary of the Health department and Bangalore Mayor respectively.
Azad said several schemes of the Centre have failed to reach out to the people in rural areas on account of various reasons and sought more publicity from the media.
''It is the responsibility of the media to create awareness among the people of the facilities that have been made available to them so that if they do not reach the people, the latter can demand them,” Azad said, asking the media to do their bit to help the people.