255 wellness centres a big boost for healthcare in Raj

Jaipur: The state has made operational 255 health and wellness centres (HWC) under Ayushman Bharat. The state has not adopted Ayushman Bharat’s insurance component yet but it has adopted its provision of developing health centres as HWCs to provide improved healthcare facilities in the state.

Among 255 health centres including 130 sub-centres, 100 primary health centres and 25 urban primary health centres have been converted into HWC in the state. The health department has to convert 424 more health centres into HWCs.

Dr Prem Singh, nodal officer, Health and Wellness Centres (HWC) said, “The Centre has allotted us 679 HWCs. We have operationalised 255 of them so far.”

At HWCs (sub-centres), healthcare facilities such as ongoing service delivery of reproduction and child health, and disease control programmes to continue community based risk assessment for common non-communicable diseases (NCDs). It will have additional package of prevention, screening and management of NCD. It will also promote activities like yoga along with activities of health promotions.

Setting up of HWC is part of the preventive health component of Ayushman Bharat. Under preventive health component of AB, state government has been told to transform sub-centres and primary health centres in rural and urban areas into HWC. The state government has identified 100 primary health centres (PHCs), 130 sub-centres and 25 urban PHCs initially. At HWCs (PHCs), patients will be provided with basic primary health care for expanded range of services including universal screening, prevention and management of non-communicable diseases. Also, wellness activities will be done for health promotion and yoga sessions will also take place.

Under first component of AB, beneficiaries (families belonging to poor and vulnerable population based on SECC database Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011) covered under the scheme will be allowed to take cashless benefits from any public/private empaneled hospitals across the country. However, the state has not implemented it yet as similar scheme in 2015 — Bhamashah Swasthya Bima Yojna was launched by the state government.