NHM grants only for health and wellness centres: Union minister
In an apparent reference to Punjab government’s flagship Aam Aadmi Clinics, Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Sunday said the state government will get grant for health and wellness centres under the National Health Mission and not for any other scheme.
Blurb:
Says the Punjab government can promote any health facility model on their own, but the central grant cannot be used for such schemes
Patiala
In an apparent reference to Punjab government’s flagship Aam Aadmi Clinics, Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Sunday said the state government will get grant for health and wellness centres under the National Health Mission (NHM) and not for any other scheme.
The state government can close the health and wellness centres, but cannot change their name. “It (state government) can promote any health facility model on their own, but the central grant cannot be used for such schemes. The NHM grants are only for the health and wellness centres, which is a flagship scheme of the Centre for providing quality healthcare facilities to public. This scheme cannot be changed by any state government,” said Mandaviya, who in Patiala to review the health schemes. He also visited a NEET PG exam centre in the city.
The Punjab government inaugurated 100 on August 15 last year and another 400 clinics on January 26.
Earlier, the Union health ministry had said the Punjab government was converting Ayushman Bharat – Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWC) into Aam Aadmi Clinics, and had warned of stopping the funds for the scheme. The AB-HWC is formulated with a 60:40 contribution ratio by the Centre and the state. Union health secretary had also written to the Punjab health secretary and clarified that the grant for health and wellness centres has been used for Aam Aadmi Clinics, due to which the remaining grant of ₹546 crore will not be released.
Earlier in the day, Punjab health minister Dr Balbir Singh along with MLA Ajitpal Kohli, batted for Aam Aadmi Clinics and also raised other health-related demands. Dr Balbir Singh handed over a demand charter to the Union minister on healthcare demands of Punjab. He apprised Mandaviya about the steps being undertaken by the Punjab government to modernise the health services in the state.
Divulging about the meeting, Dr Balbir Singh said that the issues related to health were debated at length which elicited positive response from the Union minister who appreciated the model being implemented by the state government to provide quality health services to the people, besides the Aam Aadmi Clinics.
The Union Minister also accepted the demand concerning critical care units for all districts of the state for which a detailed proposal would be sent to the Centre. The Union minister also assured to provide requisite funds for new medical colleges apart from controlling the prices of necessary 388 types of medicines and 42 types of anti-cancer medicines, said Dr Balbir Singh.