Nearly 15,000 Plus One Vocational Higher Secondary Education (VHSE) National Service Scheme (NSS) volunteers are set to visit their bedridden or frail neighbours suffering from lifestyle diseases to monitor their blood sugar and pressure as part of the second phase of the Sneha Sanjeevani project.
Sneha Sanjeevani was initiated during the first COVID-19 lockdown to facilitate supply of medicines to bedridden elderly patients by student volunteers. During the second wave of the pandemic, the students made home visits to help people register online for COVID-19 vaccine.
To monitor 10 persons
Under the new initiative, the National Health Mission (NHM) has provided one glucometer with test strips and digital blood pressure (BP) apparatus to each of the 330 VHSE NSS units Statewide. Each student will closely monitor the parameters of 10 persons in their neighbourhood, and report to the Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) cell of a nearby primary health centre (PHC) periodically.
Officials say that that the cost of reaching testing facilities can be a drain on the income of bedridden patients or those living alone. The volunteers will help check these social costs involved in testing. The project will be undertaken continuously with the support of the NCD and the National Tobacco Control Programme cells of the NHM, Kerala.
The student volunteers (each unit has 50) have been practising how to test blood sugar and measure BP and to determine if the parameters are high or low. They are being trained by the Health officials.
Omicron impact
At the field level, students will work with the NCD cell of a PHC. Some NSS units have already conducted camps where patients have come to the school to get sugar and pressure tested.
The first phase of the field-level activities is 30% complete, as is most of the training. However, the field-level activities could get postponed owing to the spread of Omicron, say officials.
