Chandigarh: Red Cross plan for doctors at doorstep yet to take off

Sources say that the UT Red Cross failed to get sufficient volunteer doctors to start the initiative. “We faced two major problems. One — that not many doctors showed interest for this initiative and the second was the number of registrations was not large,” said a senior Red Cross official.

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A senior citizens’ facility in Sector 43, Chandigarh. (Express Photo by Jasbir Malhi)

A Chandigarh Red Cross initiative aimed at providing healthcare to elderly people at their doorsteps in the city is still grounded. The reason: The Red Cross says the response from the public was poor. In 2016, the initiative, named ‘Kushal Mitra’ (Doctor Apke Dwaar) was launched by the Indian Red Cross Society, in association with UT Administration and other city-based medical organisations.

But even after a year has passed, there is no major development. Sources say that the UT Red Cross failed to get sufficient volunteer doctors to start the initiative. “We faced two major problems. One that not many doctors showed interest for this initiative and the second was the number of registrations was not large,” said a senior Red Cross official.

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Under the initiative, home-based services were planned with the visit of empanelled doctors and physiotherapists. Providing laboratory tests, ECG, X-Ray at “nominal charges” by availing services through toll-free helpline number:1800-180-2067 were also planned. The charges for a doctor visit was Rs 700, and 200 for physiotherapist.

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UT Deputy Commissioner Ajit Balaji Joshi, however, said the number of registrations for to start the programme were not adequate. “We can start it once we get a chunk of people for this initiative,” he said, adding that the initiative is not closed.

After inauguration of the services, the UT Red cross officials had said that they would started the initiative from November 1, 2016.

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During the launch, the Chandigarh administration had then said that “with nuclear families, changing family structures and increasing mobility of families, a large number of elderly citizens in Chandigarh are staying alone and need professional medical help from time to time.”

A call centre located in Sector 19, managed by UT Red Cross, was announced for this initiative. Officials say they hardly received any inquires about the service in the initial days.

City MP Kiron Kher who had inaugurated the project then, told Chandigarh Newsline on Saturday that she would get details from the department concerned about the project once she is back in Chandigarh.

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