The Hindu : Health camps to be organised

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 15, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Health camps to be organised

By Bindu Shajan Perappadan

NEW DELHI, FEB. 14 . In an effort to bring health care services closer to the common man, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has initiated a special scheme under which health camps would be held in all the nine districts of the Capital.

Titled `Parivan Kalyan Avam Swasthya Mela', the main objective of the camps will be to reach out to people who do not otherwise have access to or cannot afford regular health check-ups.

And while Ministry officials seem pleased with their latest venture, various groups including the Delhi Medical Association (DMA) and the Indian Medical Association (IMA) hope that the project would become a permanent feature and not end up as a pre-election stunt.

"While we extending our full support to the new project initiated by the Central Government, we are hoping that people will actually benefit from it and that the health camps would do the work that they have been set up for,'' says the DMA president, Anil Bansal.

At the health camp people can avail of facilities and information on child care, immunisation, family welfare counselling, ENT, dental and cardiac check- up, leprosy checks, diabetes control and even get pathological investigations.

On February 18, 19 and 20 camps will be held at Ajmal Khan Park and Karol Bagh, where a large number of stalls would be set up for providing medical facilities to visitors and specialist and various diagnostic kits and essential medicines would be made available free of costs.

The camp would also be used for disseminating information on various health and family welfare and population- related issues. And for helping spread information about the camp, publicity will be done in the nine districts through the cable network, handbills and banners, which will be placed in different localities.

Also help of residents' welfare associations and market associations will be sought for providing publicity about the camps. In an effort to keep a tab on patients, health cards will be printed and maintained.

"We are also trying to involve schools and private participation for enhancing the services. It has also been decided that the Department of Social Welfare would set up a stall for rehabilitation and a board would be constituted to issue disability certificate on production of income certificate,'' said the Deputy Commissioner (Health), Central District, Rinku Dhugga, while giving details about the camp.

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