In view of the changing times and emergence of lifestyle diseases among the urban poor, the health department of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) will train doctors of urban health centres (UHCs) to diagnose and treat such diseases.
Hypertension, diabetes, stress and cardio-vascular diseases are common among the upper middle class. But, medical officer, Dr Suhas Kulkarni reports, “These days, UHCs are receiving patients suffering from hypertension and diabetes. To deal with such cases, we want to provide special training to the doctors.”
He said ten doctors of UHCs took part in the first phase of training during the last week of December. Gradually more doctors will be added in three proposed batches.
In a recent survey conducted by AMC in urban slums of the city, it was found that a considerable number of people suffer from lifestyle diseases. Of the 1.2 lakh men and women screened, the survey found that 16% had ‘pre-diabetic’ blood sugar levels. The survey also found that 6.9% of screened men and 5.5% women suffer from diabetes.
Moreover, the survey also showed that the city slums have 4,147 men and 10,228 women who suffer from hypertension. Increased calorie intake, smoking and drinking can be held responsible for the rise in lifestyle diseases among the urban poor.
The civic body has roped in experts from three institutes to impart the training. “The team providing training will consist of diabetologist Dr Mayur Patel from Swasthya Diabetes Care, Dr Sudhir Gandhi, additional director, State Institute of Health and Family Welfare and a team from Indian Institute of Public Health-Gandhinagar (IIPH-G),” said Prof Dileep Mavalankar, director of IIPH-G.
He added, “We want to improve the quality of services provided by doctors of UHCs. The programme will mainly be related to diagnosing and treating diabetes and hypertension.”
