SGPC medical vans of little help

GS Paul

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, August 2

The SGPC’s initiative to provide free medical aid to the needy in remote areas in the state has fallen flat, if the beneficiaries’ feedback is anything to go by.

The SGPC had set aside a total of Rs 1.15 crore for this facility in its annual budget 2018-19. On April 25, the SGPC had flagged off two special medical vans with qualified doctors, staff nurses, assistants, equipment, medicines, etc, to be sent to three zones based on three temporal seats — the Akal Takht (Amritsar), Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib (Anandpur Sahib) and Takht Sri Damdama Sahib (Talwandi Sabo). These vans were to visit at least five villages everyday to cater exclusively to the economically poor patients irrespective of any caste or religion.

Though the residents appreciated the move, they complained that these vans visited them only for once, leaving the treatment of patient midway. “Neither the vans revisited the patients, nor did any of the doctors care to respond to the patients’ queries afterwards. Also, no mechanism was devised which could facilitate the patient to repeat their medicines,” they said.

They demanded that these vans should visit the village after a fortnight so that the patients’ recovery could be examined and the medication be altered accordingly.

However, the SGPC has plans to expand its reach. Agreeing upon the lapses, the SGPC’s Dharm Parchar Committee’s secretary Prof BS Johrasingha said the facility was started initially with two vans only which visited at least 250 villages between April 25 and July 10, 2018 and provided treatment to the needy people residing in backward areas, even along the India-Pakistan border.

He claimed that in the past three months the medical vans catered to at least 22,000 patients of 70 constituencies.

“There are constraints as only two vans have been put to use, but this issue will be addressed on priority. We will try to increase the frequency of these vans. Soon, we will add one more van to cover the areas of Majha, Malwa and Doaba,” he said.

The SGPC chief secretary, Dr Roop Singh, said for the chronic patients, they would release special grant for their further medical treatment in hospitals run by the SGPC.

The SGPC runs Sri Guru Ram Dass Medical University and Hospital here. Besides this, medical facilities are there in prominent gurdwaras too.