Kerala - Kochi   

AIDS treatment: IMA takes initiative to train doctors

Staff Reporter

KOCHI: The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has come up with a physicians training initiative aimed at equipping doctors to handle cases of HIV/AIDS.

The move comes in the wake of a realisation that neighbourhood doctors are likely to get patients that could be an HIV infection following an increase in the number of HIV/AIDS cases in the country.

The IMA has taken the onus to train its members in view of this situation. The programme is aimed at giving private practitioners an orientation to take up such cases that may come to them, so that they can give proper guidance to the patient and also take up treatment like that for other diseases, said Abraham Varghese, district coordinator of IMA, who is also the coordinator for the programme here.

While the doctors in the Government sector might have attended various courses regarding HIV/AIDS, private sector doctors were yet to get any training in this field. In the State, about 80 per cent of out patients were in the private sector, Dr. Varghese said.

The physicians were at a loss about what should be done, except refer them to Government hospitals, Dr. Varghese said. There should be a clear understanding on how to go about the treatment of an HIV/AIDS patient, he said.

The doctors can also play a role in lessening the stigma attached to the disease by taking classes on the subject and spreading awareness that will help check the spread of the disease.

He sais the Medical Council of India (MCI) will issue a certificate to doctors who attend the course.

"We will be giving training to about 15, 000 doctors who are members of the IMA and also to any registered modern medicine practitioner who is interested in getting trained," Dr. Varghese said.

The whole programme is being held in association with the Clinton Foundation and the National AIDS Control Society.

The first phase of the programme called Training of Trainers was held early this month in which 46 doctors attended.

These doctors will give training to the rest of the medical fraternity in the State.

The training has been organised for eight districts initially. Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Kannur and Kasaragod are the districts where the IMA will start training courses from Sunday. There are 1,750 IMA members in Ernakulam and training has been planned in 35 batches. The whole programme will be completed in six months.

Fifty doctors will be able to attend a workshop, which will give them teaching aids, CDs, brochures and other material. About Rs.42,000 is being spent on each session, which includes a travelling allowance for the doctors who want to attend the course.

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