Villagers rush to see stethoscope for first time

A one-day free-health check-up camp organised by Hope Foundation, an NGO, at Tarikhet near Ranikhet in Kumaun hills of Uttarakhand last week saw a huge turnout of villagers, some of them who had never ever seen a stethoscope or BP instrument or for that matter how blood tests are conducted. 

The villagers queued up for blood sugar test, ECG, etc and they were also provided with free food and medicines as well as free spectacles. Senior cardio specialist of Ghaziabad Dr Asit Khanna & head of Hope who was present there has been organising such camps in remote areas of the country every year.

In the camp, Dr Khanna along with Dr Vibhu Mittal (stomach & liver specialist), Dr Subhash Shalya (senior bone & joint specialist), Dr Manish Gupta and Dr Vandana Choudhary (senior physiotherapist) alongwith veteran healthcare professional Gaurav Pande coordinated the health camp with all the stakeholders. The camp was inaugurated by Additional District Judge Ranikhet Amit Sirohi. Earlier school children gave a performance of Kumauni songs and dance on the occasion.

Several patients were diagnosed for osteoarthritis-a common occurence in hilly region. “Such camps are a great necessity for the remote hill villages and small towns that have a scarcity of medical facilities and doctors,” said Dr Khanna.