Patiala, April 22 -- Against the 20 posts of clinic in-charge for the upcoming Aam Aadmi Pind Clinics (AAPC) in Patiala, as many as 600 qualified candidates appeared for the interview, officials said. The Patiala health department had invited candidates holding degrees in general nursing and midwifery (GNM), auxiliary nurse midwifery (ANM) and those holding a diploma or bachelor's degree in pharmacy. Due to the overwhelming response, Patiala officials had to conduct interviews for three consecutive days. Dr Rachna, assistant civil surgeon, said, "There was a huge rush of eligible candidates. Therefore it took three days to complete the interviews. A merit list will beprepared based on fixed criteria." Nearly 1,280 Aam Aadmi Pind Clinics, which will primarily use a telemedicine model to provide doorstep primary care, will be established in the first phase. According to the empanelment letter, a Pind Clinic in-charge is entitled to an empanelment fee of Rs.620 per day. Officials said one Pind Clinic in-charge would work for two AAPCs, and an additional empanelment fee of Rs.120 per day as travel allowance would be given for visiting the second AAPC. A clinic in-charge will work from 8 am to 11 am at one AAPC, and after a one-hour lunch break from 11 am to 12 pm, he or she will work at another AAPC till 3 pm. "The AAPC in-charge will carry out day-to-day patient registration, scanning of patient records, general physical examinations, online teleconsultation with doctorsusing IT tablets, dispensing of medicines and maintaining stock/indent records on a daily basis," said a health officer. Officials said the reason behind the overwhelming response was a lack of job opportunities in government sector and exploitation in the private sector. One of the officials who conducted the interviews said, "These qualified candidates have been working in private health centres for a meagre monthly salary of Rs.7,000 to Rs.9,000. Besides, the workload in private health centers is very high." The Aam Aadmi Clinics are painted in red, yellow and white, but hundreds of the new Pind Clinics will be painted in yellow and blue - similar to the colours of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) flag. According to documents accessed by HT, the department of architecture has approved yellow and blue for both the exterior andinterior of the Aam Aadmi Pind Clinics. Officials from the department of architecture claimed that the layout and design of the clinic were preparedbased on specifications provided by the client - health department. Earlier, the Punjab government had painted PRTC buses in yellow and blue. Before that, civil hospitals and government schools were also painted in yellow and blue....