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The latest news from Khandel Captain Will Gough, Captain Seb Burn, James Gough and Dr Peter Gough. Medical Camp, resounding success! Dr Peter Gough, Chair of Khandel light, led a four man team to Khandel in January, to conduct a general and dental health camp for villagers. Accompanying Dr Gough on this self-funded trip were two of his sons, James, a final year medical student at Cardiff University, and Captain Will Gough, an army dentist, together with Will’s friend and fellow army dentist Captain Seb Burn. The four men were unsure as to what would be the demand for their services; in the event, they were almost overwhelmed by the seemingly never-ending queues for their services. Supported by some local help, they were able to treat more than 200 patients during the camps, and to refer on a number of patients who required further treatment. Many conditions were related to the villagers’ lifestyles; there were problems with feet and cases of dizziness caused by dehydration. The dentists witnessed many cases of fluorosis (potentially serious poisoning of the teeth and bones), caused by too much fluoride in the water. They were delighted by the enthusiastic response to their preventative education provision on dental hygiene.
A number of patients presented with familiar issues, though perhaps they were being heard for the first time; they included anxiety and depression, though not necessarily expressed in those terms. The camps provided a stark reminder that the Villages around Khandel lack the Primary Care services that we in the UK take for granted. This means that many easily treatable conditions are simply left; for example the doctors came across cases of perforated eardrums as a result of earlier untreated infections. Blindness had been accepted by locals as a permanent consequence of cataracts, although they are treatable with an operation. Even when villagers obtain treatment by travelling to towns, there is no follow up care or continuity, such as we enjoy. In addition, drugs are very expensive, imposing difficult choices on the sick; one woman seen by the team was malnourished, as paying for the drugs she needed left her unable to buy enough food. The Charity is indebted for donations that were generously made specifically to facilitate the dispensing of medication on this trip.
Captain Will Gough and friends! The enthusiastic reception enjoyed by the team and the success of the camps has led plans to do others in the future. In the longer term, Khandel light would like to establish a permanent medical centre in Khandel, although this would require ongoing funds to make it viable. New Health worker, better targeted support… At the suggestion of Nirman Sanstha Khandel (NSK), our partner NGO through which Khandel light funds are channelled, we have moved away from the pattern of extending support one village at a time. The new strategy enables funds to be targeted at the very poorest in whichever of the 25 villages around Khandel they live. This creates a more equitable way of operating, and means that all villages are benefiting at some level. To support the change, NSK has taken on a fourteenth Health Worker (Saheli). The Health Workers work extremely hard with their broad remit encompassing health and hygiene, sanitation and the education of women. Building roads to the future… As part of Khandel light’s support of the job-creation programme, work began in February on the building of a new road from the villages of Jaitpura and Jaisinghpura. This work is very important in improving transport and communications between the villages. |
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