These Mobile Clinics Are Proving To Be Saviour For People In Naxal-Hit Areas Of Chhattisgarh

Mobile clinics
Awapalli village in Chhattisgarh has mobile clinics that go to places where no doctors have gone before. The health checks and medicines are for free. The medical staff often hails from the same village.

Dr. Shailendra Kumar, the block medical officer at Usoor, Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh, runs a temporary clinic under a mahua tree at a village market. He visits this clinic once in a week. He is also helped by a health assistant, a staff nurse, an auxiliary nurse midwife and two volunteers.

Health Facilities in Awapalli
Awapalli village comes in Bijapur district of Chattisgarh state which is the worst affected area by Maoist violence. The reason why this healthcare clinic has been set up because the people are too scared to go to doctors or government hospitals.

Since Chhattisgarh is the most affected by Maoist violence, it is difficult to move people out from homes and avail facilities provided to them. According to Hindustan Times, Dr Kumar said that many villagers go to traditional medicine men for the cure and don’t get the free health services available to them. They go to people when people are not able to reach out for them. People come to markets with their families, and it is the perfect place to vaccinate the children and treat those who look ill.

There is no private hospital in Bijapur, and the government hospitals have been underutilised for decades. The hospitals are poorly constructed, and the infrastructure has dilapidated.

Facilities by Mobile Clinics

Doctors and Nurses from Usoor Primary Health Centre (PHC) take care of the patients. They screen pregnant women and vaccinate children. Besides this, they treat boils, skin allergies, diarrhoea and treat people for malaria. A medical test is carried in the closest Primary Health Centre. They treat around 70 people from 10 AM to 4 PM in his shift each week.

Localising Care
Efforts are being made to hire a medical staff of the same community who knows the local language. This will make it easier for localities to access to facilities and convey their health issues. The tribal girls are being trained and hired as Auxiliary Nurse Midwife. Tenders will be issued soon to outsource dialysis and radiology including CT, MRI and X-Rays.

Read more at Hindustan Times