New Delhi, Aug 4 (IANS) Under the National Ayush Mission (NAM), 12,500 units of existing Ayush dispensaries and sub-health centres (SCs) have been upgraded for operationalisation as Ayush Health and Wellness Centres, renamed as Ayushman Arogya Mandir (Ayush), the Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday.

Union Minister of State for Ayush Prataprao Jadhav, in a written reply in Rajya Sabha, said that as many as 40,269 dispensaries and 3,648 hospitals are currently offering Ayush OPD services across the country.

He said under the Centrally-Sponsored Scheme NAM, consolidated funds are released to the State/UT Governments against the proposals submitted through SAAPs, as per provisions of the NAM guideline. Financial assistance is allocated at a unit cost of Rs 16.22 lakh per Ayush Dispensary and Rs 15.744 lakh per Sub-Centres for upgrading them into AAM (Ayush).

Karnataka has the highest number of such facilities that include 7,641 dispensaries and 274 hospitals, he said.

Jadhav said as per the operational guidelines, AAM (Ayush) were approved with an objective to establish a holistic wellness model based on Ayush principles and practices (Yoga therapy, Ayurveda consultations, Naturopathy treatments, etc.), focusing on preventive, promotive, curative and rehabilitative healthcare, he said.

As reported by States/UTs, the footfall of the beneficiaries visiting AAM (Ayush) has been subsequently increased after upgradation of Ayush Dispensaries/Sub health centres into AAM (Ayush) because, in addition to OPD services, these facilities are also providing various other services like Prakriti Parikshan and Yoga-related activities, he said.

There are NABH assessments and also third-party review besides visits by the Central team in different States/UTs to ensure quality, accreditation, training of Ayush practitioners deployed at these centres and monitoring of the implementation progress of different activities/services being provided by operational AAM (Ayush), he said.

The State/UT governments have also been advised for appropriate training and capacity building of AAM (Ayush) team, strengthening of referral linkages with other public health facilities, effective involvement of field-level workers, especially ASHAs, for better outcomes, the Minister of State said.

--IANS

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