2 weeks ago
1
The Kochi Corporation is acceptable to displacement its Urban Health and Wellness Centres (UHWCs) functioning retired of rented premises to its ain buildings successful a bid to trim operational expenses, peculiarly rent.
Of the existing 35 UHWCs, astir 20 run from Corporation-owned facilities, portion the remainder incur sizeable rental costs. With the Fifteenth Finance Commission, nether which the centres were allotted and proceed to person yearly funding, drafting to a adjacent this year, and the uncertainty implicit the continuation of specified funding, the Corporation is keen to pare down expenses. In 2022, the Centre had sanctioned 67 UHWCs for Ernakulam district, including 38 wrong Corporation limits.
“Several of our centres proceed to relation from rented buildings, with monthly rent ranging betwixt ₹30,000 and ₹40,000. It would beryllium worthwhile adjacent if we acquisition a fewer cents of onshore to location these centres,” said Mayor V.K. Minimol. Of the 38 centres wrong Corporation limits, 2 - Vytilla Janatha and Kaloor backstage autobus basal - were opened soon aft the United Democratic Front-led governing committee assumed office.
“In fact, the inauguration of the remaining 5 centres was portion of our 21 precedence projects for the archetypal 50 days. Of these, 3 - Ayyappankkavu, Chakkaraparambu, and Ernakulam North - person been completed but could not beryllium inaugurated arsenic the exemplary codification of behaviour kicked successful up of the Assembly election. They volition beryllium opened shortly,” Ms. Minimol added.
In the archetypal year, the Union authorities allocated ₹41 lakh done the Corporation for mounting up the centres, portion different ₹7 lakh was disbursed straight to the Kerala Medical Services Corporation for medicines and equipment. In consequent years, an further ₹22 lakh was allotted towards operational expenses, with the National Urban Health Mission handling quality resources and medicinal requirements. Each centre has a aesculapian officer, 2 nurses, a pharmacist, and a cleaning worker. Outpatient services relation from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Plans are besides nether mode to amended nationalist entree to UHWCs and Urban Primary Health Centres by rationalising their organisation and avoiding clustering, successful enactment with the reorganisation and summation of 2 divisions pursuing delimitation. At present, centres assigned to definite divisions are located successful far-off areas owed to changes successful part boundaries and numbering.
