After an extremely successful Family Planning session in our community, we directed ourselves to the herculean task of accessing government portals that would assist us further in our initiative of getting the interested individuals operated and gain access to other birth control methods. The Delhi government website directed us to the family planning welfare division in BHAGWAN MAHAVIR HOSPITAL. A very helpful Dr. Diwan, informed us about the various facilities we could use for the same and provided us with important contacts. We were told that we would be able to get all help from the area’s dispensary and some other hospitals. DISPENSARY We, then, tried to enquire from the dispensary about the facilities they provide under their family planning / nutrition program. We found out they could provide us with: 1) A health camp: Every dispensary has an appointed (Auxiliary Nurse Midwife). She is appointed to take care of the health of the entire community. She was readily available to assess the health/immunization needs of the children. 2) Health Talk: Apart from health needs of the children, the parents and other mature adults in the community would be addressed by the Doctor and ANM. They would be informed about the various measures they should take to stay healthy, hygienic and clean. 3) They would provide us with free medicines based on the needs of the community. 4) They were ready to carry out operations for the women. However, the compensation for the same was pretty lower than what we had learnt from others. We decided to visit some other hospitals, to get a clearer picture and know more in terms of the procedure, compensation, facilities and registration requirements. SUNDER LAL JAIN HOSPITAL There is family welfare department in the hospital. We learnt from them that they will operate the women; however, they can’t provide them with compensation, due to the latest government policy to stop providing compensation to private hospitals. However, they have said they will have a meeting, where they would discuss if they could do something to provide compensation to the women getting operated. BABA SAHEB AMBEDKAR HOSPITAL The head Gynaecologist explained to us the entire procedure. She told us that the women would be required to visit the hospital for investigation that would take around two days. After this, they would be admitted, operated and discharged on the fourth day. Compensation was around Rs. 250-600, depending on the papers (Ration card, BPL papers etc) BHAGWATI HOSPITAL This is again a private hospital. The same issue of non compensation arose in this hospital. However, they were helpful enough to guide us to an NGO, Marie Stop, that operates in areas of family planning. We came to know of a few NGO’s that dedicated themselves to such activities. We went ahead and paid a visit to them SAMPOORNA Sampoorna is an NGO running from the past 19 years. It provides an ample lot of services to the poor and underprivileged. Sampoorna put forth their support in organizing a health camp and a family counselling session at the project site. We received a very satisfying response. MARIE STOP This NGO is completely dedicated towards family planning. It carries out investigations, operations in day and does a free follow up for the next 30 days. There is an initial fee of Rs.50 for investigation purposes. This NGO was being provided with funds by the government to be used as compensation. However, with its recent policy, they are now not able to provide any compensation to the patients. ISSUES WE ARE FACING: 1) Time: As the women in the community are daily wage labourers, they cannot afford to spend a day without work. If the woman were made to undergo surgery, they would need to spend a maximum of 5 days (2 days of investigation and 3 days for operation and post operative precautions). After this, they would be asked to avoid heavy work for a period 50 days minimum. This sounds unfeasible. The alternative to this method is laparoscopy. This is a procedure of ten minutes and would require 2-3 days of precaution. This would be followed by a follow up after a week to remove the stitches. The recuperation period for the same is 2 weeks. 2) Compensation: The government scheme to provide compensation to every individual who get themselves operated was an excellent incentive and a huge motivator. The compensation amount varied in different hospitals. In government hospitals, for women it is around Rs.250- 300 and for men, Rs.1100. Those who are BPL (below poverty line) and SC/ST, get an amount of 600 for women and Rs.1500 for men. In addition, the motivator (mediator between the patient and the doctor) get a sum of around Rs. 150- Rs.250. These could be given to the patient too. In the dispensary, it is Rs.150-250 for women and Rs.500 for men. The government recently stopped providing these facilities to private organizations. Hence, this narrows down our options. WHAT WE NEED TO DO 1) We need to prioritize laparoscopy over operation as it is less invasive, less time consuming and has a fast recuperation period. 2) We need to ensure maximum compensation, or convince them that compensation isn’t as essential as getting operated. IDEAS WE ARE CONTEMPLATING 1) We are planning to talk to the site supervisor, if he will be able to provide a paid leaves to the women for three days, while they recover. 2) We can get them operated in Marie Stop and direct the funds received from this month’s Meal a month program to cover the transportation costs. 3) We can get them operated in the dispensary; however the compensation will be less. 4) We are waiting for Sunderlal Jain Hospital to contact us after their meeting. 5) We can enquire in a government hospital away from the area and if they provide us with better compensation and speedy recovery, then the motivator’s money could be used to cover transportation expenses. Please put forth your opinions/ideas, if any, so that it can help us overcome all the obstacles in our initiative.
