Mumbai: Soon, you can visit One Rupee Clinics to get tested for HIV

Mumbai: Taking a note of its failures on the health front in the past, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has come up with a new service for Mumbaikars. The citizens will soon be able to take Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) tests at the One Rupee Clinics at Mumbai’s railway stations.

“Training will be given to the doctors at the clinic and they will also be taught how to use the rapid HIV kits,” said official. The initiative has been taken by the Mumbai District Aids Control Society (MDACS) in association with One Rupee Clinic, which will soon provide testing of HIV. The test which involves a small prick on the finger and drawing blood will see the citizens getting results in 15 minutes.

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The official said usually people do not get time to visit the clinic as they are open during office hours from 9 am to 4 pm, due to which they cannot test their blood to detect HIV. The motto of starting the HIV test at the One Rupee Clinic is that it is open 24×7 due to which people can go anytime to these clinics and get their tests done,” added official. He added that the advantage of getting a test done at one of the clinics located at the stations is that people will get to know whether they are HIV positive or negative immediately and can start with their treatment instantaneously.

Dr Rahul Ghule, CEO of One Rupee Clinic, said, “Through this initiative, we are playing a midway role between government and private hospitals to avail the affordable health.” The rapid HIV kits will be provided by the MDACS to all the one rupee clinic situated at city’s various station. “It is the self-kit test where one involves taking a prick of blood from a finger and will provide results in 15 minutes,” added a senior official.

The official further stated that the privacy of the people will be maintained and will receive their results via text or over the phone by one of the trained clinicians. With an aim to make cost-effective medical facilities, recently ‘One Rupee Clinic’ decided to get the medical tests available at doorsteps for senior citizens across the city where free home medical facilities for MRI, CT scan, USG booking are provided for the senior citizens.