Health Care and Health Awareness

• Estimated Project Cost:  4312000
• Estimated Fund Requirement:   4312000

• Project Focus:   Fully equipped Mobile Medical Vans.

Project Swasthya Raksha

NEED OF THE PROJECT 

Sensing that Medicare is the most important component of village life, MSSWS has proposed a unique project Mobile Medicare Unit. There are persons who are too vulnerable and old to visit hospital for treatment & are too poor to afford it. It hence, becomes necessary to bring medical facilities at their doorsteps. This tragedy of old age magnifies in proportion, if elderly person is financially poor. He not only faces neglect of family, but does not receive proper nutrition, medical facilities & various things necessary in twilight years of life. Considering the size of population, who cannot afford medical treatment, this number is a drop in ocean. Deployment of MMCUs to various uncovered areas is a major challenge. MMCU is highly potential project & has the ability to penetrate deeper into the society. Since a social worker always accompanies MMCU, wide reaching effects can be created through medical & other kinds of care. This potential is yet to be realized. 

KEY STRATEGY

To facilitate access to public health care particularly to people living in remote, difficult, under-served and unreached areas. The objective of this strategy is to take healthcare to the doorstep of populations, particularly rural, vulnerable and under-served areas. This is not meant to transfer patients. MMU services are envisaged to meet the technical and service quality standards for a Primary health Center through provision of a suggested package of services under 12 thematic areas- Maternal Health, Neonatal and Infant Health, Child and Adolescent health, Reproductive Health and Contraceptive Services, Management of Chronic Communicable Diseases, Management of Common Communicable Diseases & basic OPD care (acute simple illnesses), management of Common Non-Communicable Diseases, Management of mental Illness, Dental Care, Eye Care/ENT Care, Geriatric Care and Emergency Medicine. These services are provided free of cost through MMUs, besides enabling referrals.

OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROJECT 

1. To provide mobile health care services in Madhya Pradesh Districts villages where the basic access to health service is lacking.
2. Increase access to health care in an under served area: The primary objective of the mobile clinic is to bring health care into a community with limited access, specifically to those who are uninsured or under insured.
3. To ensure curative health care: To prescribe and dispense medicines on the spot for the common ailments and referral to hospital for other cases.
4. To educate and build health awareness: To raise awareness about preventive health care issues including family planning, communicable and other diseases, audio visual equipment and a large screen will be fitted in the van. With the help of this facility educational films can be shown in villages.
5. The clinic also integrates patients into existing social services and health care systems through referrals.
6. To provides free episodic care at a time and place chosen to best serve our target population.

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN: There is usually one vehicle per MMU, however, in case of more than one vehicle:

1. One vehicle is used for transport of medical and para-medical personnel.
2. Second vehicle is used for carrying equipment/ accessories and basic laboratory facilities.
3. Third vehicle carries diagnostic equipment’s such as X-Ray, ultrasound, ECG machine and generator.

Deployment of MMUs is based on a population norm with 1 MMU per 10 lakh population subject to a cap of 5 MMUs per district. However, further relaxation of norms is available on a case to case basis, where patients served through existing MMUs exceeds 60 patients per day.

ACTIVITY: Inclusion of Socially Excluded Communities

At present, the total number of government sponsored schemes run into hundreds making it difficult for general public to remember all of them and reap benefits from them. Not only the general population, even persons holding constitutional positions, social activists and/or functionaries of various political parties do not have complete grip on all these schemes and associated benefits. The target population, eligibility criteria and type of benefits offered vary across the schemes. Similarly, the enrolment process is different for different schemes. The natural owner of these centrally sponsored schemes spread across a number of government departments and ministries. When a person is in need, s/he struggles to identify an appropriate scheme for himself/herself. This gives rise to uneven access and uptake of these welfare measures undertaken using the tax payers’ money. It results into poor performance of these schemes in closing the inequity and addressing inclusive growth.

Bottlenecks in Access to Information on Government Schemes

The issues related to access of information about government schemes are at each level of implementation: 

1. The first level of missing information is whether there is any such scheme for one’s actual need / present and for future- If such scheme exists, whether one can be eligible to apply for such scheme?
2. The second level of missing information is about what the process of applying for the government scheme is and how one can get more information/clarification about the said scheme
3. Even if one is able to apply for the scheme, the third level of information missing is about how to avail the benefits

IMPLEMENTATION METHODOLOGY 

It is proposed to run a Mobile medical care unit (MMCU) in form of a van to provide primary medical care to those, who due to age and poverty cannot approach regular doctors, in the targeted 65 backward villages. 

Social worker associated with the MMCU will reach out to society by involving the local community and organizes them for health care. Besides providing medical consultancy most of the medicines at practically no cost are also made available. 

Mobile Medical Staff 

Doctor: A qualified M.B.B.S doctor will be appointed as Medical Officer for the MMCU. 

Nurse: A qualified nurse (B.Sc./Diploma in Nursing) person would be appointed as nurse. 

Health Worker: The concerned person must have at least three years of work experience in the event of not being professionally qualified. 

Pharmacist: A qualified pharmacist would be appointed for drug distribution. 

Social Worker: An experienced social worker with at least three year of work experience will be appointed. 

Driver: A committed driver with a valid driving license will be appointed for this post. 

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

We will be the prime recipient of the funding and lead partner in this initiative. 

Management systems: The program team will ensure coordination through clearly defined and pre- agreed responsibilities, lines of management, and channels of communication. To align all parties, a project kick-off meeting will convene all partners and invite participation from Ascend Telecom Infrastructure Private Limited. All partners will participate in regular meetings to review progress against the project log frame and work plans, share learning, discuss key issues, and address opportunities and challenges. 

We will hire a project manager to oversee the project execution including, monitoring, review progress, organize trainings, check quality and ensure that the project activities are completed within the defined timelines.