We have a new community clinic in Chandpur, Ropar, Punjab, taking our total to 13 community clinics completely setup and facilitated by Ambuja Foundation across Chandrapur, Bhatapara and Ropar.
The clinic was recently inaugurated in Chandpur village as part of its ACF’s Community Health Program. The initiative is poised to benefit a population of 2,000 residing within the immediate vicinity of the clinic. Ambuja Foundation has made a commitment that it will continue to provide such health facilities to the residents of the neighbouring villages also.
Under ACF’s health initiative in Ropar, interventions in clinical services and community health camps on Non-Communicable Diseases are organized. To enhance this program further, a community clinic was setup to offer medical treatment to beneficiaries at their doorsteps.
Rural India accounts for nearly 69% of the total population, yet only has 26% of total hospital beds and 33% of total healthcare professionals. A popular way in the past to address this vast need, whilst ensuring last mile reach, was Mobile Medical Van model – with both the government, and private NGOs like ACF, running MMV programs to tackle pressing rural health needs.
Looking for a more impactful and cost effective intervention, Ambuja Foundation honed the Community Clinic model, where villages have access to a visiting doctor and paramedical officer once a week; all year round access to medication availability; a variety of screening tests at a reasonable rate including NCDs, BP, Haemoglobin, Blood Sugar Levels, Nebulization, Oxygen Levels; education and awareness via regular workshops and behaviour change communication on a variety of non-communicable diseases; and access to a Sakhi 6 days in a week for consultation, advice and referral to relevant doctors. All in the comfort of their very own clinic!
The collaborative nature of the model is unique – the local panchayat provides the building and renovates it ready for use, Ambuja Foundation fits it out and stocks it with various technical equipment, furniture and facilities to create a viable operating centre; and the local Village Development Committee promotes the centre, collects community contributions, facilitates the purchase of medicine, oversees centre monitoring, maintains records and helps facilitate health camps - hand in hand with Ambuja Foundation.
Villagers willingly pay for the service, which is not only affordable and good quality, but convenient and comprehensive – finally solving the health woes of remote rural communities. Ambuja Foundation plans to further scale and replicate this model across other locations in the future – also introducing additional comprehensive health services like telemedicine to reach out to less agile and elderly housebound patients within the community.
