The one thing that we always strive for in our lives is stability. We want to have a permanent source of income, a proper house and a healthy lifestyle. But since there are so many external factors working around us, tragedy is bound to strike us sooner or later. Such was the case of a Chikkamagaluru labourer who suffered a heart-attack and was staring death in the face.
According to Times of India, a labourer from Samse suffered from a heart-attack and was unable to find any public transports due to the Bharat Bandh.
On Monday, the 44-YO labourer complained about chest pain at around 11 AM. However, since some political parties had called a Bharat Bandh to protest the rising fuel prices, he was unable to avail a public transport. At 3 PM he got an autorickshaw and reached the Kalasa hospital at 4:30 PM. The doctors over there carried out some preliminary investigations and put him on an ambulance to Mangaluru.
The labourer had boarded the ambulance at 7 PM and reached Mangaluru by 10:45 PM. But as soon he got admitted into the Kasturba Medical College, doctors began treating him.
Dr. Padmanabh Kamath, professor and HOD of cardiology at Kasturba Medical College said that the patient had lost a lot of time because he had to travel 7kms in a rickshaw and 125kms in an ambulance. However, that time was made up for due to the innovative programme called Cardiology at Doorsteps (CAD). With the help of it, general practitioners from six districts were able to give expert advice on cardiac care and quicken the discussions on medical treatment.
As mentioned before, the CAD initiative has 250 practitioners working in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Kodagu, Hassan and Chikkamagaluru districts. Dr. Kamath, who’s one of the cardiologists in the programme, provided details about how it was developed and how it helped them in saving the labourer’s life.
Communication isn’t the only thing that the programme has focused on. Dr. Kamath says that they’ve been able to hand out free ECG machines to 25 health centres in five districts. Additionally, 25 more centres will be equipped with ECGs by November.
India is a very widespread country and the only problem is reaching every corner of every district. But if doctors like Dr. Kamath take initiatives like the CAD programme, maybe we’ve a chance to improve our country’s medical scenario.