Health Camp at Kahawatta
Health Camp organized by Medical Students' Hindu Society of our faculty was held on 24th and 25th of this month at Kahawatta Tamil Maha Vidayalyam, Ratnapura. It is my 5th medical camp, in the faculty starting from Mannar, Poonakari, Udappu, Deniyaya. As usual I was assigned to vision care. The first day was for screening of school children which was done by medical students and second day was for the public and referred school children done by doctors. It was crowded from the start till the end.
Why do we have to do a free health camp in a country where a health care up to tertiary care is free. Even when government has decentralized the health care, with each province having its own general hospital with specialists. What amazes me is that people come with chronic problems and want to sort it out in one day, but all we do in the camp for them is to refer them to the hospitals. So where is the problem? It is either people are unaware of how to access health care or they are misguided along the health care pathway at some point.
People with mature cataracts are coming to the health camp thinking that using spectacles can cure it. Even when explained that, they kept asking for spectacles telling that they would do the surgery later. I was tipping my anger point but controlled it because I felt sorry for them.
But the climax of the health camp, was we couldn't screen all the people who came there and we had to send the people away at about 3.00 p.m., then one person, around 60 years came to me while I was writing referral letters and said "I came here at 4.00 a.m. without taking breakfast and stayed in line to get seen, but now I am going back. Will you people receive merits by this service?". I just listened to him and said no words because there was fault in the way we held the camp.
But why do people think that they could get well by coming to one health camp, where is the problem? Are there no drugs/physicians in the local hospitals? Are they not competent? Or is it just a problem in the health seeking behaviour of people? If it so, what has the education system has done to it. Here we are given free education up to tertiary education and taught Health Science in secondary schools. It includes many things like puberty, sports, exercise, nutrition, and first aid. But it does not include how to access health care in the country, what is the organization and what are their rights in relation to health care. I guess soon, they would put that up, otherwise we have to face many generations with wrong health seeking behaviours.
Why do we have to do a free health camp in a country where a health care up to tertiary care is free. Even when government has decentralized the health care, with each province having its own general hospital with specialists. What amazes me is that people come with chronic problems and want to sort it out in one day, but all we do in the camp for them is to refer them to the hospitals. So where is the problem? It is either people are unaware of how to access health care or they are misguided along the health care pathway at some point.
People with mature cataracts are coming to the health camp thinking that using spectacles can cure it. Even when explained that, they kept asking for spectacles telling that they would do the surgery later. I was tipping my anger point but controlled it because I felt sorry for them.
But the climax of the health camp, was we couldn't screen all the people who came there and we had to send the people away at about 3.00 p.m., then one person, around 60 years came to me while I was writing referral letters and said "I came here at 4.00 a.m. without taking breakfast and stayed in line to get seen, but now I am going back. Will you people receive merits by this service?". I just listened to him and said no words because there was fault in the way we held the camp.
But why do people think that they could get well by coming to one health camp, where is the problem? Are there no drugs/physicians in the local hospitals? Are they not competent? Or is it just a problem in the health seeking behaviour of people? If it so, what has the education system has done to it. Here we are given free education up to tertiary education and taught Health Science in secondary schools. It includes many things like puberty, sports, exercise, nutrition, and first aid. But it does not include how to access health care in the country, what is the organization and what are their rights in relation to health care. I guess soon, they would put that up, otherwise we have to face many generations with wrong health seeking behaviours.
Comments
Post a Comment