Delhi’s Mohalla Clinics in crisis: Staff shortages, medicine shortages & closures

Patients forced to turn to private care

Once hailed as a revolutionary healthcare initiative, Delhi’s Mohalla Clinics are now struggling with staff shortages, medicine unavailability, and closures, leaving thousands without access to essential medical care. The new Bharatiya Janata Party government would do well to revive these outlets and expand their reach vertically and horizontally.

When the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government launched Mohalla Clinics in October 2015, they were hailed as a revolutionary step towards providing accessible and free primary healthcare to Delhi’s residents. These neighbourhood clinics, designed as the first point of contact for those suffering from basic illnesses, soon became a crucial part of the Capital’s health infrastructure. However, nearly a decade later, many of these clinics are either shut or struggling to function due to a severe shortage of doctors, staff and medicines.

A healthcare model under stress

Delhi currently has 546 Mohalla Clinics spread across its 70 assembly constituencies. The model was designed to decongest government hospitals by providing quality healthcare at the neighbourhood level. According to the Delhi government’s records, more than 60 pc of the doctors working in these clinics are women, which has encouraged greater participation from female patients who feel more comfortable seeking medical help from female healthcare professionals.

However, despite their initial success, many of these clinics are now in a state of neglect. Over the past year, several clinics have either been temporarily shut down or have stopped functioning altogether due to operational hurdles. Patients visiting these clinics often find them closed, while those that remain open frequently lack essential medicines and adequate staff.

Mahila Mohalla Clinics: A short-lived initiative?

In November 2022, the Delhi government launched Mahila Mohalla Clinics, a special initiative aimed at addressing women’s healthcare needs. Four such clinics were inaugurated with the promise of providing free healthcare and diagnostic services specifically for women and children under 12. Staffed entirely by female doctors and paramedical staff, these clinics were expected to create a safe and comfortable healthcare environment for women.

Yet, less than two years since their launch, several Mahila Mohalla Clinics are already facing closures due to financial constraints and administrative issues. Reports indicate that at least half of them are either non-functional or operate sporadically due to a lack of medical professionals and logistical support.

One such Mohalla Clinic was established at Batla House in southeast Delhi in November 2022 with the aim of providing accessible healthcare to women and children in the area. However, the clinic’s journey has been marred by persistent operational issues, and it has remained shut for the past year.

“This clinic was a blessing for women like me who can’t afford expensive private hospitals. We don’t even know why it shut down. It is not like the clinic had fewer patients, there was always a good footfall. But most of the time, even basic medicines were unavailable. Sometimes, even a simple cough syrup wasn’t in stock. The doctors who worked here left one by one, and eventually, the clinic shut down completely,” Farzana Begum, a resident of the locality, tells Media India Group.

Although Mahila Mohalla Clinics were designed to provide essential medical services to women and children in underserved areas, challenges such as staff resignations, inconsistent service delivery, and a lack of essential resources have severely impacted their effectiveness. Despite the high demand, these issues remain unresolved, preventing these clinics from fulfilling their intended purpose. Immediate intervention is required to restore operations and ensure access to healthcare for Delhi’s vulnerable communities.

It is not just the Batla House clinic facing these issues many other Mohalla Clinics and Mahila Mohalla Clinics across Delhi are grappling with similar challenges. These clinics, initially envisioned as a crucial lifeline for the poor, are now struggling to function due to a severe shortage of doctors, essential medicines, and diagnostic facilities. Many remain non-operational for months at a time. For example, the Mahila Mohalla Clinic in Mayur Vihar in east Delhi, was forced to close for three months between March and May 2024 after its doctor resigned, leaving the clinic without medical staff.

The shortage of medicines and the lack of blood test facilities further compounded the issue, making it impossible to provide even basic healthcare services. Despite the high demand, these issues remain unresolved, preventing these clinics from fulfilling their intended purpose. Immediate intervention is required to restore operations and ensure access to healthcare for Delhi’s vulnerable communities.

“Earlier, we could at least rely on this clinic for basic medical needs, but now it remains closed for days. Even when it was open, there were hardly any medicines available. Most of the time, we were told to buy medicines from outside. The doctors kept resigning one after another, and no replacements were brought in. At first, they used to conduct blood tests here, which was a huge relief for us, but now even that has stopped. Now, we have to travel far and spend money at private labs just to get a simple test done. It has become so difficult for people like us who cannot afford private hospitals. These clinics were supposed to help the poor, but instead, they are shutting down one by one,” Suman Devi, a local resident of Mayur Vihar, tells Media India Group.

The decline in the number of patients visiting Mohalla Clinics is evident in official data. In 2023, these clinics witnessed an unprecedented footfall of 19.4 million visits across Delhi. However, in 2024, this figure dropped by 28 pc, with only 13.9 million appointments recorded, according to documents obtained through an RTI application and reports by The Indian Express.

Health department officials, doctors, and experts attribute this significant decline primarily to a persistent shortage of medicines. Since 2019, data shows that the total number of male patients visiting the clinics stood at 24.2 million, whereas female patients accounted for a higher number, reaching 30.2 million. Each year, more women than men have relied on Mohalla Clinics for healthcare services.

In 2019, the clinics recorded 1.51 million consultations from men and 2.05 million from women. The numbers dropped in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic but surged again in 2022, with 5.24 million visits by men and 6.83 million by women. The upward trend continued into 2023, reaching 8.58 million male consultations and 10.8 million female consultations. However, this pattern changed in 2024, as male visits declined to 6.41 million and female visits fell to 7.55 million—marking a drop of 25.2 pc and 30.5 pc, respectively, compared to the previous year.

“Earlier, we could come here for any basic health issue, get free medicines, and even have blood tests done on-site. But now, whenever we visit, either the clinic is closed, or they tell us that medicines are not available. Even tests that were once done here have been stopped, forcing us to go to private labs and spend money. How can people rely on a healthcare system that barely functions,” Rani Devi, a resident of  South Delhi, tells Media India Group.

While the idea of Mohalla Clinics remains a commendable one, the present situation calls for immediate action. Without urgent intervention, this ambitious healthcare model may fail, leaving thousands of Delhi’s residents without access to primary medical care.

Even though the Aam Aadmi Party is out of the power and its adversary Bharatiya Janata Party has now taken charge, one hopes that the healthcare facilities do not fall victim to petty politics and the new government in Delhi must act swiftly to save these last mile healthcare outposts.