Soon, specialist doctors to treat poor patients at PHCs

Hyderabad: With specialist services proving costly and out of reach for the poor patients, the government is planning to have specialists like cardiologists, pulmonologists, and others in the Primary Health Centres (PHCs) on a rotation basis every week, according to sources. The Health Department officials are taking up the exercise of deploying specialist doctors in PHCs. To begin with, there will be specialists—like gynaecologists, paediatricians, general medicine, general surgery, ophthalmologists, dental, orthopaedics, pulmonary medicines, ENT, and psychiatric services.

However, officials said all these services will not be available on all days in the week. The specialists will be providing services once or twice in a week. Every Monday, specialists like gynaecologists and paediatricians will be available for consultation; similarly, on Tuesday orthopaedics, on Wednesday general medicine, and general surgery. Doctors working in teaching hospitals, district hospitals, area hospitals, and Community Health Centres (CHCs) will be provided in PHCs based on their availability.

The specialists will be offering services in PHCs as officials are taking up the exercise of providing specialists in a PHC based on their availability. They will be placed in PHCs on a rotation basis, which will come in handy for the citizens. The poor patients cannot afford to pay specialists, as private hospitals or clinics charge anywhere around Rs 1,000–1,500 per visit. “To provide the specialists’ services free, the government is planning to have them in PHCs, said a senior official. Already PHCs and ‘Basti Dawakhanas’ have been prescribing tests in the Telangana Diagnostic Services, which has eased the burden of costly tests in private diagnostic services. With this new facility, they would get a free consultation,” he added. The doctors will be examining patients coming to PHCs and prescribing medicines; if there is no facility in PHC, they will be referred to big hospitals. Sources in the department said all facilities will be provided soon in PHCs.