BERHAMPUR: Five years ago, the parents of 10-year-old Mamali of Bhatalumarda in Ganjam district, came to know that she had a hole in the heart (congenital heart disease in medical parlance). Following the advice of a doctor, they waited for two years for her condition to improve on its own, without any medical or surgical intervention. But all their hopes dashed to the ground when she grew weaker and pale instead of healthier during the period.
After running from pillar to post, the girl’s father found help in the healthcare staff, which screened the students in her school. They suggested him to avail of the Centre’s Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) scheme, which provides for free diagnosis and treatment of children affected with congenital heart disease.
“After fulfilling the modalities to avail of the free treatment, she was operated upon at a private hospital in Ahmedabad, one of the healthcare institutions empanelled under the scheme recently. Now she is leading a normal life,” her mother Sabita said.
Similarly, the daily wager parents of seven-year-old Rajashree of Berhampur were also very worried when doctors told them that the chances of her survival were bleak, if she was not operated upon soon. “I didn’t know where and how to arrange the money for the surgery of my daughter,” Sarathi, a daily labourer, said. He added, “During the period, a team of RBSK approached us. After the necessary paperwork, they took us to Ahmedabad and admitted my daughter to a hospital, where her surgery was conducted. I can’t thank the government enough for giving a new lease of life to my daughter.”
Like Mamali and Rajashree, as many as eight children in the 0-13 age group in Ganjam district have been successfully operated upon under the scheme in the last one month. All these children came to City Hospital here for their post-surgery check up on Thursday. “We had sent 12 children for surgery in two phases in the last month. While eight have undergone the surgery, three have been referred to other hospitals for better treatment.
