Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Monday inaugurated 20 “Aam Aadmi School Clinics” set up at Delhi government schools which will focus on physical, mental and emotional well-being of students. These will also offer counselling services for children.
The clinics, inaugurated at an event held at the Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya in Moti Bagh, are part of a pilot project implemented by the Delhi government, in collaboration with The Hans Foundation and with the support of CSR initiatives of the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital Delhi, BSES Rajdhani Power Limited and the BSES Yamuna Power Limited.
“The Aam Aadmi School Clinics are an extension of Mohalla Clinics and have been started with the aim of providing biannual health checkups to our school students. Apart from this, for the first time, the focus will be laid on mental well-being along with physical health. A healthy mind will contribute to a healthy society and ultimately a healthier nation,” Sisodia said at the event.
“This initiative is one of the biggest achievements in the field of education and the health sector. The school clinics will have doctors and psychologists who will listen to the problems of students. “Having a psychologist is one of the biggest steps because it will be an addition to our happiness curriculum,” the deputy chief minister added.
Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said the programme is carefully crafted to cater to young students, keeping in mind their physical and mental health needs. “It aims to provide healthcare through regular full-body health checkups by trained professionals, guidance on health management by doctors, group awareness sessions on issues like stress management, and individual therapy sessions by a psychologist,” he said.
“Only a healthy mind can lead to a healthy body and in turn to a healthier society. We have initially started with this intervention for students, but we will think about extending these services for teachers as well as parents in the future,” Jain added. The Aam Aadmi School Clinic project is currently being executed in 20 schools of the Delhi government and will be further extended to cover more schools.
The clinic, built in a portable cabin within the premises of the school, will have a trained doctor, ANM, psychologist and a multi-task worker. The ANM will be responsible for screening students for any physical and mental health issues. Availability of a psychologist along with a doctor, focus on early diagnosis and treatment, free consultation, medicines, treatment and first-aid services with a robust referral system to higher hospitals, qualified and trained staff and biannual follow-up of every student are among the features of these clinics.
“These clinics will screen 30 students each day. They are equipped with adequate supplies of medicines for the students. This list has been curated keeping in mind the specific needs of adolescents, with a primary focus on anaemia, malnutrition, refractive errors, worm infestation, and menstrual hygiene. “One of the aims of the Aam Aadmi School Clinic is to work on long-term deficiencies and disorders such as anaemia, adolescent diabetes, refractive errors, worm infestation, menstrual hygiene, malnutrition, skin infection, and other diseases as well,” a senior government official said. The official explained that these clinics function digitally and maintain data on an online web portal.
“I am anticipating that this project will not only prove to be the best one providing healthcare services to students in the country but also in the world, and we all will be able to see the results soon,” the health minister said.
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