India is a country with 1.3 billion population. Meeting Health needs of population is always a great challenge. Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, Launched National Rural Health Mission on 12th April, 2005. The Main aim of NHM is to provide accessible, affordable and quality health care to the rural population, especially the vulnerable groups.
Primary Health Centres are one of the important functional unit of NHM. In this page, you can get PHC Full Form, Functions, Manpower, Population coverage and more information below.
PHC Full form- Get to know more updates on 2023
PHC Population Coverage
As per Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) Norms 2022, Population coverage of Primary Health Centre are given as below.
Plains- 30,000
Hilly & Tribal areas- 20,000
Urban Areas- 50,000
Poly Clinic- 250000-300000
PHC Manpower
Every Primary Health Centre team of medical, nursing, paramedical and administrative, security staffs etc. However it varies on different states. The following is the typical manpower of a PHC.
Designations & Number of Posts
- Medical Officer -03
- Staff Nurses-05
- Pharmacist-02
- Lab Technician-02
- Ministerial Staffs-03
- Health Inspector-01
- Maternity Assistant-01
- VHN-02
- Hospital Worker-02
- Sanitary Worker -02
- Security-02
PHC Functions & Responsibilities
In Rural areas, PHC serves as first medical aid for all village people especially Below Poverty Line. Early Identification and prevention, Basic Management, counseling, ensuring treatment adherence, follow-up care, ensuring continuity of care by appropriate referrals, optimal home and community follow-up, and disease surveillance are the important functions of a PHC.
As per service provision standard of IPHS, The twelve packages envisaged under Comprehensive Primary Healthcare services (CPHC) are:
1. Care in Pregnancy and Childbirth
2. Neonatal and Infant Health Care Services
3. Childhood and Adolescent Health Care Services
4. Family Planning, Contraceptive Services, and other Reproductive Health Care Services
5. Management of Communicable Diseases: National Health Programmes
6. General Out-patient Care for Acute Simple Illnesses and Minor Ailments
7. Screening, Prevention, Control and Management of Non-communicable Diseases
8. Care for Common Ophthalmic and ENT Problems
9. Basic Oral Health Care
10. Elderly and Palliative Health Care Services
11. Emergency Medical Services including Burns and Trauma
12. Screening and Basic Management of Mental Health Ailments
National Health Programmes in PHC
Primary Health Centre plays a crucial role for implementing National Health Programmes. The following are the important health programmes under which various health benefits provided.
- Reproductive Child Health (RCH)
- Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK)
- Hospital on Wheels (Mobile Medical Unit)
- National Blindness control Programme
- National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer
- Non-Communicable Diseases
- National Leprosy Eradication Programme
- National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme
- National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme
- Integrated Disease Surveillance programme and more.
Frequently Asked Questions about PHC Full Form
What is the Full Form of PHC?
Primary Health Centre is the full form of PHC
Who is the Administrative in-charge of PHC?
Senior Medical Officer of the PHC is the administrative head of PHC
Whether Out-Patient Services are provided in PHC?
Yes. Out-Patient Services are provided for minor illnesses 24×7 in all PHC
Whether In-Patient Services are provided in PHC?
Yes. In-Patient Services are provided for Minor illnesses and Labour, LSCS etc
Whether Treatment is Free of Cost in PHC?
Yes. All treatments are free as per GOI policy.
What are the Role of Health Inspector (HI) in a PHC?
HI actively involves in early diseases identification and control of out break like Dengue, Malaria, Viral Fever etc. He reports to the Non-Medical Supervisor and further higher official like District Directors regarding out break. Then Special Medical Camps are conducted to identify and initiate early intervention in out break areas.