State government decides to operate evening clinics at all Basthi Dawakhanas

The State government on Thursday decided to operate evening clinics from 4 pm to 7 pm at all Basthi Dawakhanas in areas under the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).

Special health camps between 4 pm and 7 pm are also being planned to be held at all the urban slum settlements in the State which will ensure the poor will have access to doctors, medicines and diagnostic facilities.

“We will make arrangements to collect blood samples from sick persons at the slum settlements, so that the results are released quickly. The doctors will be available in the evening after the residents get back from their work,” Health Minister, Eatala Rajender said on Thursday at a high-level review meeting.

The diagnostic tests at urban slums will be carried out under the Telangana Diagnostics initiative wherein samples will be collected from different parts of the city and brought to a central diagnostic laboratory at IPM, Narayanguda for testing.

Briefing the Minister at the review meet, health officials said that malaria is



expected to be active in Asifabad and Bhadrachalam districts while dengue is expected to be active in areas under GHMC, Khammam and Warangal districts. In September, the cases of swine flu are expected to rise across the State.

“Adequate measures are already being taken to ensure patients in these regions have proper access to quality healthcare at all government health care facilities,” Rajender said.

The Minister directed the health department to ensure availability of rapid dengue diagnostic kits, continue with door-to-door fever surveys in districts and organising special medical camps in villages to identify seasonal ailments and Covid cases.

The meeting also focused on the need to ensure availability of medical services to non-Covid patients at government Hospitals. Teaching hospitals under Director of Medical Education, Area and District Hospitals under Telangana Vaidya Vidhan Parishad must ensure that proper health care services are available for people coming with seasonal ailments, the Minister said.