NE NEWS SERVICE
GANDHINAGAR, MARCH 19
The Mohalla clinic-based healthcare model of the National Capital Region of New Delhi was not suitable for a large state such as Gujarat, said Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel here on Thursday.
Speaking in the Gujarat Assembly, Patel, who holds the health portfolio, also said without naming Aam Aadmi Party-ruled Delhi that people from the national capital come here for better treatment.
He was responding to a question by BJP MLA Kishorsinh Chauhan who wanted to know the difference between a Mohalla clinic – which the AAP government has popularised in Delhi – and a Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Gujarat.
“That facility (Mohalla clinic) is more suitable for a city where 100 per cent population lives in urban areas. You are talking about a city which is also a state (Delhi) having a population of around 1.5 crores,” Patel said.
“On the other hand, Gujarat has a vast geographical area and population of 6.30 crore. Gujarat has mountains, tribal areas, rivers, deserts, and a long coastline. So our healthcare model is based on PHCs, Community Health Centres, district and sub-district hospitals, civil hospitals and specialty hospitals,” the Deputy CM said.
“We are famous for these facilities. Even patients from the state you are mentioning come to Gujarat for treatment,” he added.
Patients from neighboring states as well as from distant Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal also come to Gujarat for treatment, and healthcare facilities in the state are popular among Non-Resident Indians and foreigners too, he claimed.
“It proves that our healthcare model is better and we are trying to make it more efficient. It is Gujarat which inspires others. They learn from us and implement it in other places,” Patel said.
