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Diagnostic services get closer to urban poor now in Telangana

State sets up eight mini-hubs at UCHCs/ UPHCs for urban poor; all services can be availed free

By Telangana Today

Updated On - 23 January 2021, 12:54 AM

Diagnostic services get closer to urban poor now in Telangana — A woman undergoing a diagnostic test at a mini-hub at Sriramnagar, Hyderabad. Photos: Surya Sridhar

Hyderabad: Basti dawakhanas were just the beginning. Now, it is the Telangana Diagnostics project that will take the meaning of healthcare at the common man’s doorstep to the next level.
Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) Minister KT Rama Rao on Friday, while launching the mini-hub imaging service centre at Sriram Nagar near Borabanda on Friday, said quality and free diagnostic services were becoming a reality for the urban poor while the treatment options are already being offered through game-changing basti dawakhanas.

Telangana Diagnostics is a first-of-its-kind initiative to provide quality diagnostic and imaging services free. Under this, eight sample collection points (UCHCs/ UPHCs) have already been set up as mini-hubs for diagnostic services such as ECG and radiology among others, while more are on the cards.

In 2018, the government had initially implemented the services as a hub-and-spoke model at Institute of Preventive Medicine, Hyderabad, covering the GHMC area with 126 spokes. It was increased to catering to nearly 319 spokes, including basti dawakhanas, primary health centres (PHCs), urban PHCs, community health centres (CHCs), urban CHCs, wellness centres, area hospitals, district hospitals and dispensaries across the GHMC area, the Minister said.
Complimenting Health Minister Eatala Rajender and the Health Department for extending these services to the urban poor, the Minister said the same would be extended in all districts and districts headquarters.

Apart from 57 different blood tests and imaging services, efforts would be made to offer more services, Rama Rao said.

Since the pandemic, the medical and health staff had been working for long hours and delivering quality service. People would never forget their yeomen services and be indebted to them, he added.

How these mini-hubs work

Urban primary health centres (UPHCs) and basti dawakhanas, which are the first level of healthcare facilities, provide consultation with a doctor and offer basic blood tests for patients.
However, when it comes to diagnostic services like ultrasonography, ECG or even X-Ray, doctors usually refer patients to the nearest district or area Hospital or a tertiary care teaching hospital such as Gandhi Hospital. As a result, patients end up spending a lot of time travelling between multiple facilities.

With the launch of the mini-hub diagnostic facilities, patients and pregnant women can have their results within hours and need not make multiple visits.

“Patients are referred to mini-hubs through an online bar code system in the T-Diagnostic software from UPHCs or basti dawakhanas. When they come here and produce the bar code, we immediately process requests, conduct the tests and within an hour, release the test results in soft and hard copies. All this is done free and a lot of time is saved,” says Ravi Khandavilly, technical lead for implementing the T-Diagnostic online system.

Moreover, patients from UPHCs and basti dawakhanas can walk into any of the eight mini-hub facilities. “If the patient on that day happens to be in Sitaphalmandi, he or she can produce the bar code and get their tests done,” he said.