The ailing rural health sector needs more specialists in the general medical care, according to Yogesh Jain, founding member and secretary of Jana Swasthya Sahyog (JSS), an NGO.
Delivering the seventh Jetti Sesha Reddy memorial lecture on ‘Rural Health Sector: Problems and Experiences of JSS’ here on Sunday, Dr. Jain said more number of physicians trained in general family medicine and multi-skilled specialists were needed to address the basic health issues facing people in rural areas.
Sharing the model of working with tribals of Chattisgarh, Dr. Jain said by using an Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS), doctors could diagnose certain common ailments.
“We have recorded responses from people through IVRS, and through networking, we were able to provide the required intervention. We could also reach out to Malaria-afflicted people living in far-flung areas through IVRS,” he added.
“Some common ailments in rural India are owing to snake bites, rabid dog bites, occupational illnesses and low-weight. We were surprised at the number of low-weight cases due to diabetes, which could have been the result of poor dietary habits,” Dr. Jain said.
JSS has worked out solutions in the form of setting up clinics, reaching out to patients living in off-road villages using ambulances and initiating same-day-treatment practice. Besides, mobile laboratories visit villages and collect blood samples, as the organisation has put in place low-cost health care techniques.
To put public trust back on public health care, Dr. Jain advocated a ban on private practice by government doctors, forging of alliances with small health care providers and ending unethical practices in the health sector.
GGH Superintendent T. Venugopala Rao, GMC principal G. Sailabala, DMHO R. Nagamalleswari, JVV Guntur president S. Suresh and Y. Siddhaiah of Sundaram Vignana Kendram were present.
