TURA :
Meghalaya Health Minister, James K Sangma, has hailed the medical team from Christian Medical College, Vellore and Penang Adventist Hospital in Malaysia for coming to Garo Hills and holding a three-day health camp here and conducting a series of surgeries at Jengjal sub-divisional hospital since Monday.
Despite his busy schedule, the Health minister took time out to visit the Tura health mela in SMELC conference hall and paid another visit to Jengjal to meet with the team of surgeons who have been conducting operations round the clock, from 6.30 am each day.
“On behalf of the people of Garo Hills and our government we express our heartfelt gratitude to the teams from Vellore and Malaysia for giving their precious time and effort for us,” said the health minister.
Both the camps, health mela and surgical camp, have been teeming with patients from different parts of Garo Hills who arrived to avail this unique facility where everything, from medicine to surgery, is being provided free of cost.
“I came from the Emangre area of Chokpot to get myself treated for a chest congestion that has refused to go away for the past one year,” said a 44-year-old woman who left her village before the crack of dawn to travel a distance of over 130 kms.
Another 70-year-old gentleman who came to seek treatment from Rajasimla in North Garo Hills said, “ I will be missing the bus journey back home since it is already late, but I wanted to attend this camp and meet with the doctors so that they can identify my problem.” A diabetic, he has since been looked into and provided with a bed in the hospital for the night.
Speaking to The Meghalayan, Vellore surgeons Dr Dennis David and Dr Akhilesh Devendra revealed that most of the patients who attended the camp seeking medical attention were in need of either hernia, haemorrhoids or gall bladder surgeries.
“We have been excited to see the response of the people of Garo Hills to this camp. There was a strong yearning for medical intervention and we are glad we could be of help,” said David.
He pointed out the importance of preventive medicine and community participation to explain the ill-effects of smoking and alcohol consumption which is high in the Northeast region leading to cancer and other debilitating diseases.
“I am amazed by the kind of efforts doctors in Jengjal have put in for this camp, particularly surgery which requires a lot of logistics and expert hands. We conducted medical interventions for a series of cases, particularly haemorrhoids, gallbladder and hernia. But we also noticed quite a high number of thyroid cases and even head and neck swellings. We hope to do those in the future,” said Dr Akhilesh.
Senior Pulmonologist from Vellore who treated a number of patients for lung diseases, Dr Sam G, said there were a high number of asthma and bronchial cases at the camp, but was more worried about finding cases of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), which is a chronic inflammatory lung disease that causes obstructed airflow from the lungs. Its symptoms include breathing difficulty, cough, mucus (sputum) production and wheezing.
“COPD is a serious and dangerous disease but preventable if one stops smoking. It is mostly prevalent among men. Whereas for women, sadly, COPD is affecting them due to cooking over open flame using firewood that results in smoke being emitted and inhaled into their lungs. One way to eradicate this problem is using LPG or where not possible, it is always advisable to cook outside in the open or a well ventilated room with open windows and fans,” he said.