Sunday, February 5, 2012

Comrades in arms . . .

It's been 7 months since I started to post regularly in this blog and the results have been amazing. More people knowing about the work that has been going on, more prayers raised for our patients and our needs and of course a small increase in gifts for upgrading our services and facilities. 



Of course, there are quite a lot of similar endeavors being attempted all over the country. Quite a lot of them get no publicity and go along with their work remaining unsung. NJH, the hospital through which I serve belongs to a bigger movement and there are quite a lot of us who serve different parts of North India trying our best to be truthful to our mission and vision. 


One of the major challenges which we have is the dearth of qualified healthcare personnel which makes it quite difficult to provide the best for our patients. One can imagine our predicament when we, a group comprising of 3 family physicians, 1 surgeon, 1 ophthalmologist and 1 medical officer end up managing complicated cases of high risk obstetric cases including rupture uterusessevere anemia complicating pregnancy, severe cases of hypertension complicating pregnancies including eclampsias, cases of complicated malaria, cases of snake bites and some unusual bites with terrible consequences, All this in the midst of problems with poor communication facilities, a society in civil unrest and poor infrastructure.  Quite a lot of our patients have survived - SD who came to us with 1 gm of hemoglobin was a miracle survival, yet another was SD and her baby.. However, we had our terrible disappointments - our worst one was SK, who was bitten by a Bengal monitor and was on the ventilator for few days - I came to know last week that she suddenly collapsed sometime during the last week of 2011 at her home and was brought dead to NJH. 



I've been encouraging quite a lot of my friends to come down and be part of us since quite a long time. In addition, I've been requesting quite a lot of my colleagues within the organisation to write about their experiences . . . At one point of time, Christian Mission Hospitals provided the backbone of healthcare in the country . . . they still continue to be beacons of hope and succor to many a region in the world even today. However, the major challenge remains of getting qualified and motivated personnel . . . 


As I write this, I was encouraged to see my dear friend, Dr Augustine, who serves at the Madhepura Christian Hospital reviving a blog that was started quite long back. Please do take time to follow this blog . . . Although, he is in the district headquarters, the challenges he faces are almost similar. The needs of the places like these are enormous.


Before I sign off, few blessings which I'm thankful for, which happened over the last week. 

1. The local government authorities had invited us for the Block Development Festival in Satbarwa Block Office. I understand that this is the first time that we received such an invitation. We had put up quite a good show. 

2. We have been signed up to provide services under the National Health Insurance Scheme (RSBY) of the government. This is a major development for us which would help us to be more relevant to the healthcare needs of the poor and marginalised. 


3. One new medical officer has joined our team. Dr Titus Raju, a graduate from Medical College, Trissur plans to be with us for the next two years. Kindly remember him in your prayers. . . 

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