Patiala, April 18 -- After hiring private medical specialists for government hospitals and Aam Aadmi Clinics, the Punjab health department is now planning to rope in private doctors for Pind Clinics as well.

As the 881 Aam Aadmi Clinics currently cover only 16% of Punjab's villages, the state government has envisaged Pind Clinics to expand rural healthcare access. The government initially plans to open up to 1,100 Pind Clinics in the first phase and then extend them to 2,500 to cover all 12,500 villages of Punjab.

A single doctor will oversee five clinics simultaneously and attend to patients through tele-consultation. An auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM)/staff nurse and a pharmacist will cover two clinics daily.

Upon a patient's arr...