Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres giving new life to rural patients

By Shalini Bhardwaj
New Delhi [India], February 19 (ANI): The Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs), a scheme for preventive, promotive curative, rehabilitative and palliative care are giving new life to rural patients.
These centres are more than 1.5 lakh in number.
ANI visited a few of HWCs which are run by different states like Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
The Sub Health and Wellness Centre at Dhankot village in Haryana's Gurugram is providing various health services for Antenatal care (ANT), newborn and child health, vaccination, Tb, Malaria, Dengue, blood pressure, diabetes, etc.
It is also providing the first line of treatment like screening for oral cancer, cervical cancer, breast cancer, mental health etc.
"We provide different health services at this Health and Wellness Centre (HWC) like Antenatal care, childcare, and communicable diseases. We also do screening for blood pressure, diabetes, and different types of cancer such as oral cancer and cervical cancer. We provide treatment for adulthood and health services for the elderly population." Dhankot Health and Wellness Centre CHO Dr Nisha told ANI.
This centre is also providing E-Sanjeevani consultancy services for patients.
"We provide tele consultancy in this centre, approx 4-5 patients in a day and 150-200 patients in a month. But approx 400 patients physically visit for treatment at this centre," she further said, adding that the centre is also providing all the health services free of cost that includes medicines, and when more medicines are required then we coordinate with PHC centre.
A woman who visited the centre for the vaccination for her ten-month-old child, said, "My son has Exstrophy of the bladder (a rare birth defect in which the bladder develops outside the fetus). He is under treatment at some other hospital. I was worried for him that's why avoiding his vaccination, but after counselling, I started vaccination at this centre."
The total functional AB-HWCs in Haryana are 2407, which includes 1833 SHCs, 391 Primary health care (PHCs), and 183 urban primary health centres (UPHCs).
The total functional AB-HWCs at Gurugram are 108 including 69 SHC, 11 PHC, and 28 UPHC.
A health and wellness centre is also being run in Wajheelpur village of Hapur in Uttar Pradesh from the year 2018, where various healthcare facilities are easily available for the patients and telemedicine consultation for patients.
"This centre remains open from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, patients with health problems visit for treatment accordingly. We do all checkups and then prescribe medicines for them. If a patient requires tele consultation then we provide that also," Community Health Officer, Health and Wellness Center Wajheelpur village Amit Tyagi said.
Uttar Pradesh has a total functional AB-HWC - 21,705 which includes 18300 SHC, 2532 PHC and 874 UPHC.
In Hapur, the total functional AB-HWC is 173 which includes 147 SHC, 23 PHC and 3 UPHC.
In these Health and Wellness Centres Telemedicine is playing a vital role under eSanjeevani which is working as a revolution in the sector of the country.
"eSanjeevani is a revolution in the health sector of the country. India has crossed a landmark milestone in its eHealth journey. The Government of India's national telemedicine platform - eSanjeevani- registered another landmark by providing teleconsultation services to 10 crore beneficiaries," stated Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, here today. (ANI)