Ludhiana: To mark World Hypertension Dayanand Medical College and Hospital on Friday has launched India Hypertension Control Initiative (IHCI) which is the largest ever cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) outreach program in the private sector here.
The initiative “Ek (1) ne Bees (20)” has galvanized volunteers and trained them to identify high blood pressure patients. Under the program 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 program.
The commitment of industry, corporates, business houses and educational institutions including schools to improve community health is commendable, and it was evident through their active involvement during the program, said Sunil Kant Munjal, president, DMC&H management society.
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.
Dr Gurpreet S Wander, professor of cardiology and principal of DMC&H said that 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, he informed.
