Inspiring Tale: Two doctors serve in 1st ever Health Centre in forgotten village of Uttarakhand

Kotgaon: Reaching out to the neglected population of the rustic Tons valley in Uttarakhand, two doctors and nurses are catering to the primary and affordable healthcare needs of the people here. With a major focus on fighting tuberculosis and nutritional disorders, a first-ever Health Centre in the valley has been established by Anand Sankar, the founder of an NGO- Kalap Trust.

Better India recently reported about their story. The Health centre was established by Anand Sankar in the year 2018 via crowdsourcing of Rs 20 lakh fund for the construction and procurement of essential medical equipment.

Presently, the centre possesses oxygen cylinders, nebulisation, basic diagnostic facilities like blood testing kits, ECG tests, trauma care to urine analysis. It offers several medical services for the entire week.

A mere amount of Rs 25 is charged as registration fee for the first-time and the patients are provided with a unique identity number. Moreover, the centre maintains a medical data management system that keeps track of the patient’s health history.

Also Read: Woman gives birth outside health centre in Madhya Pradesh

Children below 14 years, pregnant women and elderly patients are exempted from consultation fee whereas the rest of the villagers are charged Rs 20.

Anand has appointed a couple of doctors and nurses who cater to 20-30 people on a daily basis. The remunerations of the staff are being paid by the Tata Trust from October 2018 to July 2019.

Besides, the Centre also witness senior medical experts regularly to hold health camps in Tons valley on a pro-bono basis. A door-step delivery treatment is also provided to the villagers by setting up camps two times a week.

However, comprehending that just two doctors and nurses are not adequate for the people, a team of eight certified first responders have been formed and placed in villages. Locals and NGO volunteers were trained at the Rural Development Institute – Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust.

Anand hopes to expand his reach, but more than this, his concern is to run the health centre.

“Since ours is the not-for-profit model, we need funds to continue our services. We have started a crowdfunding campaign again and are looking for organizations who are willing to invest,” Anand told the daily.

The trust has also collaborated with a local pharmacy to provide medicines at subsidised rates. The move not only makes the medicines cheap but also serves as a major step to prevent the non-qualified medical shop owners from selling medicines to the locals without prescriptions.

After nine months of the Centre’s establishment, a change regarding awareness and the need to get regular health checkup has been witnessed in the valley.

The Trust created a health report of the valley according to which around 12 per cent of the villagers have Tuberculosis and 80 per cent of the newborns delivered either in toilets or fields without an attendant.

Based on the statistics, healthcare is a significant concern in the region, reports The Better India.