Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao chairs a meeting with BBMP officials to review the dengue situation inBengaluru on Thursday.
Credit: DH Photo/S K Dinesh
Health minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said on Thursday that to ensure equitable health services, it has been decided to consider BBMP as a separate district and the required measures in this regard will be taken after discussions at the higher level. He said this at a meeting that discussed dengue cases at the BBMP head office on Thursday.
Currently BBMP is considered part of Bangalore Urban district, and it is unable to provide timely health care. Hence, from an administrative point of view, it will be considered a separate district to strengthen the public health services, Rao said.
Responding to a question on whether a separate health commissionerate will be created for Bengaluru, Rao said a decision on this can be taken only after discussions with the Urban Development Department.
New timings
Rao said that the timings of 50 Namma Clinics in Bengaluru would be changed so that people can access services better. Instead of 9 am to 4 pm, doctors and nurses will be available from 12 noon to 8 pm. Lab technicians will work from 8 am to 4 pm.
BBMP Chief Health Officer Balasundar told DH that they have shortlisted 59 clinics and are expecting to get the government’s orders on this within a day or two. If the results are good, the timings of all Namma Clinics are expected to be changed, he said.
Cut-off box - New app to be launched Rao announced that an app created by the AI & Robotics Technology Park (ARTPARK) at IISc for dengue surveillance and prediction in BBMP limits will be launched on Friday. The app for surveillance was piloted in some PHCs already and will be expanded to the whole city now. Meanwhile the predictive model can predict the number of dengue cases a month prior with 60-70 per cent accuracy said Dr Bhaskar Rajkumar of ARTPARK.