Healthcare services continue to be out of reach in terms of both access and affordability and many poor people often choose to endure pain or inconvenience caused by ill-health rather than spending money on treatment.
In the light of this, subsidised rates and government schemes go a long way in helping the poor avail of basic, necessary treatment options. For instance, a government scheme has helped poor children undergo cochlear implant surgery and get auditory rehabilitation. As many as eight children, who are hearing impaired, are referred to empanelled hospitals for cochlear implantation, the total cost of which is around Rs. 6,50,000 per child. All the children are from poor backgrounds. Their parents are not able to afford treatment for them.
Supreeth, an audiologist in Mysuru district, told The Hindu that a survey had been carried out in schools, Anganawadi centres and at the National Institute of Speech and Hearing, under the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Deafness. Through the survey, eight children were found to be suffering from severe auditory problems. The audiologist and the team then recommended the eight children for cochlear implant surgery.
District Health Officer Basavaraj and District Surgeon Pashupathy told The Hindu that the District Cochlear Evaluation Committee had evaluated the children. They said that the scheme was applicable to children, with severe to profound hearing loss, who were between eight months to six years of age. Children with active, middle-ear infection were considered for cochlear implantation only after middle-ear pathology was resolved. The committee also looked into proof of the children having used conventional hearing aids for about three to six months, but to little or no avail.
Dr. Pashupathy said that the children would be sent to the Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health (IGICH) and K.C. General hospitals in Bengaluru during the last week of January. The cochlear implantation would be done in the first week of February. The two hospitals are among the five empanelled to conduct cochlear implant surgery across the State, they said, adding that the complete cost of the treatment and the travel expenses of the parents would be covered.
Dr. Pashupathy further said that the families of the children would be informed about potential risks and benefits of cochlear implantation, risks of surgical procedures and also realistic expectations regarding performance outcome with implants.
