NMDC Apollo Central Hospital - A Doctor's Day Special !

             In case you did not know, like me, 1st July is celebrated as Doctor's Day. It is only a few days back that I had an opportunity to come across a Public Health facility in the remote and sensitive district of Dantewada, Chattisgarh while shooting for a documentary movie. And on account of personally experiencing the facilities and the commitment of the doctors & nurses there I was very inspired to write a blog post on it . Such great work done by these noble persons need to be spread I feel personally .
           
              But first let me be the 'Swamy' and do a little bashing of the facilities provided by the government .Public health facilities provided by the government is often inadequate in India especially in rural and remote areas.The rural medical infrastructure is not up to the mark in most of the areas.There is a serious shortfall of doctors who want to cater to the rural needs . Some even prefer to pay a high amount of money to the government in order to skip their rural duties. Now days there is serious question on the professionalism of doctors and ethics in medical practices with doctors resorting to unrequired surgeries and prescribing unnecessary antibiotics . The successive governments ever since independence have failed to create an effective Public Healthcare system especially for the poor and needy.  The laxity of government has been the gain of the private medical firms which are restricted to the 'commercial' areas only. All in all , the hardest hit has been taken by the rural villagers who have no access to cheap/free public health facilities and have to take expensive trips to the cities. Domestic Medical Tourism in itself is a very huge market in India ! It is a saying that at government hospitals that if you are admitted in one and if you see a doctor, you saw God !
       
                 This was the status of the government facilities . But now there is this facility by  NMDC  Apollo Central Hospital at a remote village called Bacheli in Dantewada district , Chattisgarh that provides as a unique public healthcare model for us to study. Bacheli is located near a Mining location rich in iro ore mineral. It is mostly(90%) inhabited by Gond and Halbi tribes. Financed by the National Mineral Development Corporation ( NMDC ) and managed by leading private healthcare firm Apollo Hospitals this was one place where the image of doctors as god is really visible. While I was really not soo keen on visiting the hospital as I don't like it but I was glad that I went in and had an opportunity to personally meet the CMO .

                  Sitting in his cabin he was monitoring the whole facility through CCTV's fitted at every nook and corner of the hospital . He described the life of tribals living there as very tough . Anemia was rampant and cases where hemoglobin levels were 6 were quite common even in pregnant woman which is unthinkable ! Normal levels range above 15 units. Some, he said had even 1 which is absolutely crazy as its impossible to survive in that condition. But still he said that somehow they survive. With the advent of monsoons he said that there will be problem of malaria and cases of snake bites. Also drinking water is not clean as the mining there has lead to mixing of ore in water bodies. Then there are cases of cirrhosis and liver related issues on account of culture of drinking local alcohol there. Also there were sanitation issues on account of open defecation.

                    The challenges he said were many but the administration at the hospital was well equipped to provide free services to the tribals there. They had treated 80k villagers at the hospital since 2009 when the facility started and this year the numbers are going to reach more than 1.8 lakhs ! Now while briefing us on all the facilities he literally demonstrated to us that the patients there are taken excellent care of by point us on the screen at his table. The poor patients were fed properly and even water was provided to them at their beds ! Now that is one sight you normally don't come across anywhere especially in free facilities ! It was astonishing to see such empathetic approach to public service at this remote village in Chattisgarh ! But wait, here is not where the story ends. There was a Telemedicine facility as well with huge screens for direct consultation with doctors at Hyderabad ! One really gets bowled over by entering at the room !

       
                   Other great facility was the blood testing infrastructure they had. The CMO told that they can provide the blood group results for 250 people in an hour from this facility ! That is such a number that beats some of the private medical facilities in cities as well !

There were plans to introduce an E-ICU in consultation with doctors in Hyderabad in the near future.
The doctors we permanently available and were not just visiting doctors.  Overall at the look of it , everyone was doing their own work sincerely which is very uncommon for a public health facility . Also he told that the life support systems which costs upwards of 40k per day were also provided to the poor tribals free of cost . Now tell me where do you get such excellent facilities anywhere around even in cities !

               The empathetic approach to the work added with the world class facilities at this remote center with noble ideas in the pipeline for the future made me think that gods really do exist ! The CMO in this case along with the nurses and other doctors and ward boys really were  living gods for me ! Only if we could replicate this great sustainable financing model along with partnership with private firms that could bring great cost free services to the poor and needy in the whole country. The ethical practices and the professionalism exhibited was one of a kind to be emulated by their greedy peers in the cities .A thorough study for the same should be made and practiced ! Happy Doctor's Day !

                                          The CMO  @ Telemedicine Facility                                          

Securing our 'Immediate Surroundings'

• I HAVE 3 QUESTIONS ON MY MIND TODAY :

1. While we are easily affected by things happening around the world do we tend to ignore or oversee the things happening right behind our backyard ?
2. Also sometimes question arises whether to really be a good Samaritan and help people out in immediate need or just ignore and move on ?
3. What role people could play to safeguard the city and at least secure their 'immediate' surroundings given that the Policing Infrastructure sometimes inadequate ?

The events from last evening encountered by my Dentist Jiju Amit Rajgadkar​ made me think about these questions . While it was a usual day in the clinic at around 7:30PM in all the hustle and bustle around the busy area of Nandanvan where the clinic is, 3 youths, one being a minor, in inebriated state riding tipsy on a motorcycle rammed into an elderly couple injuring the duo. And instead of apologizing the trio entered into a heated argument creating a Tamasha on the roads. Out of curiosity my Jiju went to have a look at what was happening around . He tried to cool down the situation as an elderly couple was involved but that is when being a good Samaritan backfired . The verbal altercation between the drunk youths and my Jiju turned ugly into a fist fight .
After some good people intervened the fight stopped for a while and my Jiju went back inside his clinic to attend to a couple of bruises which could have been fatal . The 3 drunk youths still wouldn't go away and were should abuses from outside the clinic. So my Jiju appropriately dialed 100 and called up the Nandanvan Police . Kudos to the Nagpur Police​ they did a commendable job of reaching there within 10 mins of the call with sufficient backup getting holed of one of them while the other two ran away on their motorcycle. An FIR was lodged under the relevant sections of IPC and was locked up.  The police really were prompt and strict in their approach.

Lately, in Nagpur the crime scene has increased a lot with daylight abductions, murders and rampant cases of Road Rage . While the Police Infrastructure which is good already but can sometimes be inadequate to deal with such situations, what can we as citizens do to really feel 'secure' . What can we as 'Responsible' citizens of India do as part of our 'Fundamental Duty' of safeguarding Public Property and to abjure violence if not around the city but at least in our immediate vicinity . What can we as a 'responsible' citizen do to increase the awareness and importance of creating a 'safe environment' which is essential to growth and development to make this city a Smart City do ?

I propose a few solutions which I think is the responsibility of each and every individual for securing their 'Immediate Surrounding' . By 'Immediate surrounding' I imply however much an individual can see and hear . In this internet age it would mean however much your range of wi-fi is . This would be meaningful and possible and if everyone takes it as a task upon themselves it would not only help in securing their areas from unwanted elements but also help in governance and community living .

1. Training in Self Defense.

2. Formation of 'micro groups' to secure their areas of business and be connected using 'Whatsapp'

3. Immediately Reporting police of any mischievous activities in the area and follow up of what is being done to contain the irritant.

4. Regular meetings with the Nagar Sevak regarding law and order situation.
 
5. Using Social Media Groups to remain in touch and express their grievances.

These points being very basic but are in my opinion very important for creation of a safe environment. On account of the ever increasing population of the city because of Urbanization and Migration of people from different states in the city with different cultures and behaviors  it is essential to be an aware citizen to absorb the changes safely . If we take care of ourselves and be vigilant we probably won't need guns and bullets to secure our areas like in the US. Please be safe and secured and contribute in securing your 'Immediate Surrounding' . A note from a Responsible Citizen .