Will partner with States to reach patients in remote areas

Hyderabad- The Wockhardt Foundation is planning to expand its medical van project to more States.

“We will be partnering with more States in implementing the Mobile Medical Van project. Mobile Medical Unit (MMU) tenders are expected in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh , Himachal Pradesh etc in the current calendar year,” Huzaifa Khorakiwala, Chief Executive Officer and Trustee, Wockhardt Foundation and Executive Director of Wockhardt Ltd, said on Wednesday.

The project is intended to provide healthcare facilities in villages and, as on date, about 100 mobile medical vans are operational in 14 States across the country.

Since its launch in September 2008, till November last year 1.36 crore patients were examined, diagnosed and treated free of cost, Khorakiwala said.

The objectives of mobile medical vans include creation of awareness in rural areas on hygienic sanitation and water consumption, mother and child healthcare, immunisation, anaemia, de-worming, vector-borne diseases, HIV, snake-bites, diabetes and tuberculosis. This is followed up with diagnosis and treatment.

Cases requiring speciality care are referred to specialists.

“We have six lakh villages with very scanty distribution of primary health centres and there is an unwillingness on the part of medical professionals to serve in villages. The mobile medical van project is one of the solutions to address this issue,” he claimed.

The Foundation had a turnover of Rs.19.38-crore in financial year 2013-14.