Bengaluru: As part of its CSR initiative, IMS Foundation in association with Laghu Udyog Bharati Karnataka is launching the first in the series “Clinic on Wheels” on Saturday, April 1, 2023.
Jagadguru Sri Sri Sri Dr Nirmalanandanatha Mahaswamji, Pontiff, Sri Adichunchanagiri Mahasamsthana Math, along with Shri. Mansukh L. Mandaviya, Hon’ble Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India and Shri. B L Santhosh, National Secretary-Organisation, Bharatiya Janata Party has consented to be part of the inaugural session. Clinic on Wheels is a digitally-enabled moving Health Clinic. The main aim is to screen the complete health of people based out of Rural and Tribal parts of India and provide them with complete Healthcare facilities at their doorstep. While doing so, the system also takes the responsibility to educate them to adopt a healthy lifestyle and support them to uplift their socio-economic status.
Clinic on Wheels is not just related to primary health, but broadly covers 5 aspects:
- Health-related Awareness: As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure, if one has sufficient health-related awareness, many diseases can be prevented upfront. Say for eg: Dengue. If one is aware of ,maintaining cleanliness and hygiene in the surroundings and can prevent water stagnation and thus mosquito breeding, Dengue can be effectively checked. In this line, a dedicated LED Screen is put up in the Clinic on Wheels, which plays health-related awareness videos, in regional languages.
- Health Screening: The Clinic on Wheels is well equipped to undertake a basic health screening, with provisions to take blood samples for a detailed study. A thorough health profile of each patient is conducted.
- Treatment: The Clinic on Wheels is well equipped with adequate medicines to treat basic illness including common lifestyle disorders like Hypertension, High Blood Sugar levels etc, all made available for free for patients. Furthermore, if there is a need for more intense treatment, the Clinic on Wheels takes the patient to the nearest Medical College Hospital where the Clinic on Wheels is tied up and admits the patient for further treatment. Furthermore, the doctors in the Clinic on Wheels, also brief the patient about nutrition management, healthy eating habits, lifestyle management and upkeep to create a new brand of awakened citizenry for New India.
- Skill Training & Empowerment: The Clinic on Wheels also does a basic Family Profiling of each patient to understand the socio-economic status of each family, and to check their affordability factor for availing secondary and tertiary healthcare services. Since Clinic on Wheels is primarily oriented towards medical upliftment of rural and tribal populace, it has entered into an agreement with the Skill Development Department, to upskill the rural and tribal population and to make them employable, or develop entrepreneurial skills, to make them self-sustainable. An important aspect of Clinic on Wheels indeed.
- Address Social ills/vices: Not just medical illness, but social ills are equally or perhaps creating more damage to the socio-economic-medical well-being of a family. Clinic on Wheels is well equipped with doctors who counsel patients who are addicted to smoking, alcohol or even more dangerous and equally rampant drug addiction. In case of stronger addiction practices, the Clinic on Wheels takes the patient to the nearest De-Addiction Centre and works with the centres closely to cure them of the same.
Dr Swapna Singh who is heading the CSR wing of the IMS, has worked tirelessly to induce life into this project. She deserves a big round of applause for her dedication and determination in making this happen.
“I always believed India would become a powerful nation when the people living in the villages are healthy and prosperous, so I believe ‘Clinic on wheels’ will be the catalyst for making village dwellers and tribal people live healthy lives. Overall, the project will provide complete health screenings at our village doorstep, ensure quality healthcare, and address the importance of a healthy lifestyle while implementing a digital intervention in telemedicine & health education” said Dr Swapna Singh, Social Entrepreneur, Founder & CEO of AMCI Group Of Companies, Head of CSR Wing of IMS “I am delighted to launch this project with our Hon’ Minister of Health and Family Welfare Shri Mansukh L. Mandaviya and Shri B L Santhosh, National Secretary-Organization, Bharatiya Janata Party, along with other dignitaries. We look forward to people taking advantage of this facility in an appropriate manner.”
Other key organisations involved in the Clinic On Wheels project include the Madhurima Sewa Sanskar Foundation, Saptagiri Institute of Medical Science, Ananta Charitable Education Society and United Phosphorus Limited.
