Health Initiatives
OutreachAnaemia ProjectDEICOrgan Donation Awareness DrivesChild Malnutrition TreatmentAids and Appliances DistributionBlood Donation Drives
Outreach
Rural Medical Outreach
The reality of the situation in rural South Gujarat is that vast proportions of the population lack access to even basic healthcare facilities, either due to financial reasons or geographic reasons.
The Medical Outreach programme took birth in 2005 to provide free treatment to tribal communities, especially those that were unable to visit a hospital. With the help of mobile clinics, primary level medical care is provided to communities at their doorstep.
Functioning as a hub and spoke model, medical vans comprising doctors, paramedics and data entry operators, make daily visits to ~70 outreach centres across 47 remote villages in South Gujarat.
Each outreach centre is visited once a week, and in some sense, these villages, which have minimalistic medical facilities, have been adopted by the hospital.
Patients are given quality treatment and diagnostic services. Medicines are distributed free of charge and those needing further treatment are referred to the Hospital for for specialised attention.
The Outreach Programme is one of the most important initiatives in the Hospital’s vision of providing care to all those in need. The programme vastly widens the impact and scope of the Hospital.
Outreach Services
The following services are provided through the Outreach programme:
Speciality and multi-speciality medical camps are conducted in remote tribal villages. During these camps, medical specialists from the hospital and other metropolitan cities cater to the healthcare needs of the underprivileged, tribal population. Focus areas include paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, physical or neurological disability management, surgery, etc.
Government-run Primary Health Centres (PHCs) across Gujarat organise immunisation and health education sessions for expectant mothers and children, known as ‘Mamta Divas’ sessions. The Hospital has been supporting this activity for numerous years, by deputing staff in remote areas to conduct these sessions.
Under the Outreach programme, over 400 schools have been visited to screen tribal students for common ailments and provide them with the necessary treatment. Understanding the importance of the preventive aspects of healthcare, elementary health awareness lessons are also imparted to students on important topics such as proper Handwashing and Nutrition.
A Mobile Dental Clinic van with a fully-equipped dental clinic and qualified dentist, travels far and wide to spread dental awareness, conduct basic check-ups and undertake procedures where required.
Anaemia Project
A holistic, time-bound action plan has been put into place by Shrimad Rajchandra Hospital and Research Centre to manage and significantly reduce the incidence of Nutritional Deficiency anaemia at the community level. The time-bound action plan includes:
To enhance awareness, at the community level, of health-related issues, relevant to anaemia.
To carry out mass screenings for diagnosing anaemia. with the goal of screening 100,000 patients per year and half a million patients in 5 years.
To treat and systematically follow-up with people affected by anaemia in order to execute this project in a holistic manner. Motivating the patients to complete their course of treatment until successful outcomes are achieved constitutes one of the most important and critical components of this project.
Organ Donation Awareness Drives
With an ever-increasing spectrum of diseases, organ failures and accidents, the need for voluntary organ donation is high.
Shrimad Rajchandra Organ Donation Programme is a public awareness campaign to encourage and promote deceased organ donation. Through this global initiative, the aim is to bring about a positive change to the current transplant scenario by inspiring people to pledge for organ donation and bridge the huge gap between need and availability.
Organ donation awareness sessions are carried out across corporate offices, educational institutes and other organisations through the medium of informative presentations and engaging discussions.
Several cities in India and abroad have participated in this initiative, making a global impact for the noble cause. People from over 150 cities, across 10 countries worldwide, have pledged their organs as a part of this initiative.
Child Malnutrition Treatment
Severely undernourished children suffer from reduced immunity and some cases – critical illnesses. In fact, severe malnourishment is a leading cause of death among children under the age of five years. This problem is particularly prevalent in the underprivileged tribal areas, where a high number of children under the age of five are grossly underweight and have stunted growth.
Children suffering from Severe Acute Malnourishment (SAM) require immediate nutritional care and rehabilitation in a specialised centre. And those suffering from additional problems like infections, loss of appetite and swelling on legs also need simultaneous medical care.
At Shrimad Rajchandra Hospital and Research Centre, malnourished children are treated by a team of consultants such as:
- Paediatrician
- Physiotherapists & Occupational Therapist
- Audiologist & Speech Therapist
- Paediatric Neurologist
- Paediatric Orthopaedist
- Psychiatrist & Psychologist
- Paediatric Ophthalmologist and Optometrist
- Dentist
Aids and Appliances Distribution
Shrimad Rajchandra Hospital and Research Centre is actively involved in improving the lives of physically challenged people in the rural South Gujarat. With the support of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, under its Assistance to Disabled Persons (ADIP) scheme, the Hospital has conducted multiple screening camps for the physically challenged at various locations in the South Gujarat region.
Taking into consideration individual and specific needs, high-quality aids such as wheelchairs, cerebral palsy special chairs, automatic stander, wheelchair tricycles, artificial limbs, walkers, hearing aids etc. are distributed at these camps free of cost or at highly subsidised rates. Each of these appliances are custom-made, taking into consideration an individual’s specific needs.
The beneficiaries of these drives include those undergoing regular therapy at Shrimad Rajchandra District Early Intervention Centre, as well as those identified through screening camps conducted across the tribal areas of Gujarat.
Blood Donation Drives
Blood donation drives fulfil an important need within the healthcare community. Blood transfusions actively save the lives of patients suffering from a variety of circumstances including surgeries, childbirth, anaemia, blood disorders, cancer treatments, and many others.
Through the Shrimad Rajchandra Blood Donation Drive programme, blood donation drives are organised in various cities across the globe and often in partnership with local corporates, educational institutes, and other NGOs.