On the 28th of July 2012, the Trinity Care Foundation conducted a free medical camp in the government hospital in Channapatna, Karnataka. This medical camp aimed at identifying patients from the region with facial deformities who required surgical procedures to rectify them.
Trinity Care Foundation worked in conjunction with government health officials in order to organize this event. Health Workers from villages in the district were directed in advance to escort patients with facial deformities to this camp. In order to spread the word about the camp, the foundation organized press releases in local newspapers and also put up advertisement posters in and around the town. Additionally, a regional TV network was asked to cover the event itself.
A team of 11, including doctors as well as interested observers from other organizations, set out from Bangalore early in the morning and arrived at Channapatna hospital, the site of the camp at around 10:45 am.
Trinity Care Foundation worked in conjunction with government health officials in order to organize this event. Health Workers from villages in the district were directed in advance to escort patients with facial deformities to this camp. In order to spread the word about the camp, the foundation organized press releases in local newspapers and also put up advertisement posters in and around the town. Additionally, a regional TV network was asked to cover the event itself.
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Once there, the team began examining patients – who consisted mostly of young children and middle aged adults – to determine the extent of their deformities and decide on a possible course of action to correct these problems. These patients, led by their Health workers attended the camp after travelling from villages as distant as 60 km from the hospital.
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| ASHA Workers |
The team distributed toys – like plastic flutes, rubber pencils and even colouring books – as well as candies among the patients to help them feel comfortable during the process of examination. Nearly twenty people were examined for facial deformities, which included cleft lip and palate problems, misaligned parts and even locked jaws. The doctors explained to each patient – and in many cases, parents and other relatives of these patients as well – exactly what procedures needed to be done to cure them of their deformities. While the team had anticipated a problem in convincing patients of the need for surgery, there did not appear to be any such issue. Each person examined was given a diagnosis and a prescription sheet, and some patients were also asked to come into Bangalore for a surgery on a given date.
The camp closed at 1:30 pm, after every single patient had been observed. Trinity Care Foundation hopes to build on its successes by organizing another such camp soon. Patients who require surgery will be treated at hospitals in Bangalore.
Trinity Care Foundation is a Non Governmental Organization focusing on Craniofacial Surgeries, School Health and Outreach Health Programs in Karnataka, India.
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