india

Updated: Jul 23, 2019 04:45 IST

With an aim to deal with the rush of patients at government hospitals, the state government is considering a proposal to run the outdoor patient department (OPD) services in two shifts.

A proposal in this regard would be sent to the state cabinet for consideration, said minister for medical and health Sidharth Nath Singh while replying to a question by Congress member Aditi Singh and BSP member Uma Shankar Singh in the state assembly on Monday.

He said at his behest the Indian Medical Association Kanpur had given a proposal for a pilot project for the second shift OPD from Tuesday to Saturday from 4pm to 6pm.

The first shift of OPD is held from Monday to Saturday from 8am to 2pm. He said the chief medical officer (CMO) of Kanpur had forwarded the same to the state government.

Singh further said that the state government was yet to take a call on the remuneration for doctors who would work in the second shift. The state government will submit a proposal to the Pradesh Medical Service (PMS) Association, the body which represents government doctors, in this regard. The OPD clinics will be functional in divisional, specialty and district hospitals as well as Community Health Centres (CHC) and Primary Health Centres (PHC).

The state government would also implement teleconsultation in all the districts while telemedicine is being implemented in 28 districts of the state, he said.

However, the minister refused to give a timeline to implement the proposal, drawing a sharp reaction from the Opposition.

Earlier, replying to a question by Samajwadi Party member Manoj Kumar Pandey, the minister said the Yogi government has made 52 PHCs and 47 CHCs, constructed by the SP government, operational. He further said that more 10 PHCs and 18CHCs were ready, but waiting to become functional due to non-appointment of staff.