The Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) on Saturday introduced four mobile medical vans to be deployed in four districts to provide free medical care to the rural population.
BPCL officials said the vans will operate in Thane, Nashik, Dhule and Jalgaon and will cover 184 villages in 12 talukas.
“According to the National Rural Health Mission statistics, 13% villages in the State have to travel at least 30 to 40 km to reach the nearest hospital, which is a matter of huge concern. We hope these vans will help in equitable distribution of healthcare facilities in India,” R. Ramachandran, director of Refineries, BPCL, said.
The vans will be operated by Wockhardt Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Wockhardt Hospitals, for six days a week and will be equipped with primary healthcare amenities, skilled professionals and portable laboratories. With these four vans, the State will now have 220 mobile medical vans operated by different organisations.
Dr. Mubira Sheikh, who will work on one of the four vans, said doctors will be rotated on a fortnightly basis. Dr. Sheikh earlier worked on a mobile van service catering to the Chembur-Bandra-Kurla belt, and said the initiative proved to be effective. “Awareness has led to an increase in the number of patients coming for treatment, which is the primary objective of these vans,” she said.
