Connecting the Dots – Health and Healthcare at Kadugodi, Whitefield

What if I tell you that there is a healthcare facility that is near to your home and caters to a multitude of specialties, like skin, eye, ENT, dental, cardiology, neurology, and more? It gives free medication post the diagnosis, and in case it is needed transfer the cases to Superspeciality hospitals.

?This facility is available to everyone, on the first Sunday of every month, in the forenoon, at the Brindavan Campus of Sri Sathya Sai Baba ashram at Kadugodi, Whitefield. The health camp is run by current students and alumni of the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (SSSIHL) and has been happening for the last 25 years without fail. That makes it 300 camps.

?The camp is run entirely by volunteers manning the respective stations as per the requirements and expertise. The process is simple and works like a clockwork. On the first Sunday of every month, the patients start arriving as early as 6 AM, though the registration starts at 8 AM. Depending on whether the patient is new or repeated, the process differs. In case of a new patient, details are taken, a card is issued and one is directed to General Medicine (with separate counters for male and female). The follow-up patients are directed to their respective specializations – unless there is a new ailment to report.

?Once the doctor's visit is done, the next step is advised. If it is medication, counters are dispensing the same. For long-term conditions, medicines are given for a month, so that there is an incentive to come back when it is over. In cases where specialty treatment is needed, reference is made for Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Science, or other hospitals as they are necessary. This last bit of the connection to superspeciality care the initial diagnosis is critical. Having conducted a couple of health camps for the underserved in our apartment complex, I found this is a huge gap. Many corporate healthcare providers are very keen to conduct free health camps in an upscale residential layout. Typically this covers some basic tests and a consultation. Now while it may be a moment of diagnosis and/ or reassurance for the well-heeled, for the poor it may be traumatic. For example, what will a poor house help gain by knowing that they have a health issue, for which they need further treatment? Where will they get it for free? And if not so, how can they afford it? I have seen cases where the doctor asked the patient whether they had some severe ailment in the past, and it was always denied. The fear of losing the livelihood in case the employer becomes uneasy is very real.

?The Kadugodi health camp solves this issue. Add to this the free lunch that is arranged at the venue, apart from the sprawling campus for easy sit out.

?And yes, one can avail alternative medicines like Ayurveda and Homeopathy too if they want to.

With bus travel in Karnataka being free for women, this is a good healthcare option for the underserved families in the vicinity of Kadugodi. What is needed is spreading awareness about its existence (there is not much public information available on this on the net), and providing confidence to the potential beneficiaries to avail the services.