Mobile clinic for poor launched
Narasaraopet: With the objective of delivering quality healthcare services directly to the homes of the underprivileged living in remote areas of Palnadu district, collector Dr Kritika Shukla on Monday formally launched an innovative programme titled ‘Mee Intiki Mee Doctor’ by flagging off a mobile clinic unit at the Collectorate premises.
This initiative is being implemented under the aegis of the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS), Palnadu district branch, with support of the Andhra Pradesh state branch and sponsorship from the REC project. Speaking on the occasion, collector Kritika Shukla stated that the mobile clinic would be highly beneficial, especially for the rural poor, elderly people who cannot travel to hospitals, pregnant women, and children. She emphasised that the primary objectives of the project are to reduce infant mortality rate and maternal mortality rate (MMR), and to control the spread of communicable diseases.
She further said that the REC Foundation is implementing this project across selected districts in the state with an estimated expenditure of Rs 8.40 crore, and advised that Red Cross representatives and the Medical & Health Department should work in coordination to ensure uninterrupted services in the district.
The large-scale service initiative has been effectively shaped under the leadership of Palnadu District Red Cross Society chairman Medarametla Rama Seshagirirao. His efforts to extend Red Cross services to every village in the district have been widely appreciated by both officials and the public. Speaking on the occasion, he said that through this mobile unit, a team comprising a doctor, nurse, pharmacist, and driver will visit patients directly in remote villages where medical facilities are not accessible. Free medical checkups will be conducted, and necessary medicines will also be distributed on the spot at no cost.
Several district officials who attended the programme described the mobile clinic as a significant step forward in strengthening public healthcare.
