K'taka will get 24x7 Primary Health Care centres: Health Minister

Stating that there is a need to improve the quality of services at all levels right from PHCs to big hospitals, he said, we are making policy changes to improve quality. Some doctors are hesitant to serve in rural areas.

New improved 24X7 Primary Health Care Centres will be set up in the state with the help of the World Bank, Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar said on Thursday. Necessary policy changes will be made to implement the project, he said.

The Minister today held a meeting with former Health Ministers of the state and legislators who are doctors. "There are 2,300 PHCs in the state presently. The policy says that one PHC is required for every 30,000 people.

But some districts are lagging in this. More PHCs will be set up with the help of the World Bank and existing PHCs will be made functional 24x7," Sudhakar was quoted as saying by his office in a release. Stating that there is a need to improve the quality of services at all levels right from PHCs to big hospitals, he said, we are making policy changes to improve quality.

Some doctors are hesitant to serve in rural areas. We will incorporate policy to give promotion based on the rural service of medicos, he added. Noting that a total of 2,500 doctors including 1,250 MBBS doctors, 950 specialists, 150 dentists are being recruited, Sudhakar said, apart from this 1,500 resident doctors will also be recruited.

Vacant posts in all district hospitals, community health centers and PHCs will be filled by December, paramedics will also be recruited shortly, he said, adding that policy changes will also be made to establish medical colleges in each district.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)