Dayanand Medical College and Hospital launches largest ever cardiovascular diseases outreach programme
17 May 2024 | News
'Ek (1) ne Bees (20)' programme to screen 5 lakh people for hypertension
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Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMC&H) has launched the largest ever cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) outreach programme, the India Hypertension Control Initiative (IHCI) in private sector in Ludhiana.
The initiative named 'Ek (1) ne Bees (20)' has galvanised volunteers and trained them to identify high blood pressure patients. Under the programme, one volunteer screens 20 people every week.
DMC&H has developed training infrastructure to train medical students, nursing staff & senior secondary students to spread awareness and has so far screened more than 1 lakh people. The DMC&H now targets 2000 volunteers in both urban and rural areas so that more and more people can be screened. The hospital has also involved corporates, schools, NGOs, and others in this outreach programme.
This is a one-of-a-kind initiative across the country where students of class XI and XII under the supervision of doctors were trained to identify CVDs and treat the patients. Buoyed with success, DMC&H is now intending to train the guards, security personnel, and support staff of different localities.
The Government of India has launched IHCI to control CVDs. An estimated 20 crore people nationwide have high blood pressure but less than 2 crore have it under control which is around 10 percent. The government intends to raise it to 25 percent by 2025.
The India Hypertension Control Initiative is a multi-partner, five-year initiative between the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), State Governments, WHO India, and the non-government organization Resolve to Save Lives.
