Swami Vivekanand Health Mission Society, apart from it’s other medical activities (such as: charitable hospitals and community health projects) is also conducting medical camps in remote and hilly areas of Uttarakhand through Swami Vivekanand Charitable Hospital (SVCH), Dharmawala, District Dehradun.
Villages for medical camps has been heedfully selected after finding out that more than 60% of the population are underprivileged and belongs to tribal and other backward communities. SVCH, Dharmawala has conducted medical camps in 69 villages at a distance from 9km to 65 km. Some medical camps are held in distant places due to which our entire team does a night stay there and return back on next day. Our medical camp team consists of doctor, pharmacist, health worker and a camp coordinator.
The objective of these medical camps is to provide general examination, health check-ups (sugar test, BP check-up, weight measurement) and medicines. The patients who require further assessment and specialist consultation are referred to our base hospital. All services are provided free of cost and on monthly basis.
In the run up to the health camp, Village Pradhans, Anganwadi workers , ASHA workers , Ward members, VDC members and localities are voluntarily stepping forward for needful arrangements and actively mobilizing the community to participate in these camps.
Statistics
Total 439 Community Medical Camps were conducted in 69 tribal and remote villages. Total number of beneficiaries: 23,009
All services (general examination, health check ups, medicines) were provided free of cost.
Out of 23,009 medical camp beneficiaries: 12,322 cases were referred for further diagnosis, consultation and treatment to Swami Vivekanand Charitable Hospital, Dharmawala. Remaining 10,687 patients were given medicines and regular follow up was done in the consecutive medical camps as well as by the medical camp coordinator.
Inspite of difficulties such as climatic variations, seasonal harvestings, village ceremonies, we were able to conduct medical camps every month in all villages.
Another set of challenge was to make sure that patients who were referred to our base hospital are completing their course of treatment by making regular phone calls and by motivating and counselling them. Sometimes, we were not able to do so because many of the villagers were not having mobile phone or the proper network in their area. So, our medical camp coordinator and health workers have to either physically visit their home or to contact them through their neighbours or village official members. But, we still did the follow-up to ensure that the patients got successfully treated from our base hospital.
The health camps are going on successfully. Given the nature of the work the tribal villagers are engaged in and that health services are usually inaccessible to them, there was a need for such a camp to provide basic health services.
