Srinagar: To provide lifesaving treatment to the marginalised sections of the society, at least 2816 health and wellness centres have been made functional in Jammu and Kashmir. The flagship health scheme under Ayushman Bharat was launched in December 2018.
The health and wellness centres are aimed to deliver free primary healthcare, provide early diagnosis, and management of the common non-communicable diseases.
State Nodal Officer of the National Health Mission (NHM), J&K, Dr Muhammad Shafi Koka told Greater Kashmir that over 1740 sub-centres had also been upgraded so far.
“We had a target of operationalising around 2442 health and wellness centres in J&K but we have made 2816 centres functional. Over 589 PHCs, 45 UPHCs, and 441 Ayush centres are also functional. This all comes under the primary healthcare services, ” he said.
Dr Koka said that there were some interventions like upgrading infrastructure, human resources, and providing an expanded package of services but they had completed all of them.
“Besides, maternal, child, immunisation and communicable diseases, we are providing other services like rehabilitation, eye, ENT, palliative care, elderly care, oral health services including prevention of communicable diseases” he said.
Dr Koka said that they had started e-Sanjeevni Tele-consultation and were providing 3000 consultations every day.
“We have around 2471 sub centres. Of the 2471 sub centres, 1740 have been changed into wellness centers,” he said. “We also provide people free of cost services. We are providing free of cost diagnostic and drugs. We provide 17 diagnostics at PHC level and six diagnostics at sub-centre level.”
Dr Koka said that 15 lakh people above the age of 30 years had been screened at these health and wellness centres.
Besides these, more than 317 Health Wellness Centres have been approved and made functional in J&K during the last three years. The Ministry of Ayush has operationalised Ayush Health and Wellness Centres (AHWCs) under the Ayushman Bharat as a component of the centrally-sponsored scheme of National AYUSH Mission (NAM) through state and union territory governments to expand the AYUSH system of medicine for providing treatment through AYUSH systems of medicine for different types of diseases.
To minimise morbidity, disability, and death at a far lower cost and to lessen the need for secondary and tertiary treatment, the J&K government plans to establish comprehensive primary healthcare through primary healthcare centres.
According to the Economic Survey of 2021-22, 1.5 lakh Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres are proposed to be set up in India by 2022.