Monthly Psychiatric Camp held by Rotary Club at Shankerpura

By Dr. Eugene DSouza, Moodubelle
Bellevision Media Network

Shankerpura, 01 May 2011: The 86th monthly Psychiatric Camp was organised by the Rotray Club of Shankerpura on Sunday, May 1, 2011 from 9.30 am in the Rotary Club premises. This camp was sponsored by Hilary Pinto of Katapadi who is a businessman in Dubai.

 

From its inception in 1984, the Rotary Club of Shankerpura has been  conducting various programmes and  undertaking different projects to improve the quality of life of the people in and around Shankerpura, especially from the poor strata of the society. Besides sponsoring the education of poor and  needy students and providing drinking water facility where needed, the Rotary Club of Shankerpura has been conducting medical and health check up camps throughout the year. Every year, the Rotarians conduct four free eye check up camps  with the help of Dr. Krishna Prasad of the Prasad Netralaya, Udupi and his team and provide free spectacles to the needy and also conduct free cataract operations at the Prasad Netralaya.

 

However, the most significant achievement of the Rotary Club of Shankerpura has been the monthly Psychiatric Camp that is being organised on the first Sunday of every month since 2004. This unique type of camp has been conducted with the help of Dr. P. V. Bhandary and his associates from Dr. A.V. Baliga Memorial Hospital, Udupi and Dr. Srinivas Bhat from K.S. Hegde Medical Academy, Mangalore.

 

The attendance of the patients at the monthly  Psychiatric Camp  has gradually increased from the initial number of  just  20 to more than 100 who take the advantage of the free consultation and treatment. A number of patients over the years have been completely cured. 

 

In the morning before the doctors arrive, the Rotary members do the registration of each and every patient that attends the camp. They have maintained separate files for each patient in which the ailment, doctor’s observation and line of treatment are recorded. Thereafter, blood pressure of each patient is checked and  the psychiatric doctors check the condition of the patients and prescribe the medicines which are dispensed free of charge to the patients. According to Dr. Edward Lobo, President of the Shankerpura Rotary Trust, the expense of the  psychiatric  camps every month is around Rs.10,000 which is born by the Rotary members  and philanthropists.

 

 

The 86th Psychiatric Camp held on May 1, 2011 was sponsored by Hilary Pinto of Katapadi, a businessman from Dubai. A short stage programme was held to felicitate Hilary Pinto. As he could not attend the programme, his cousin Mrs. Mable Almeida along with Fr. Ronald Fernandes, parish priest of Katapadi who was behind getting the sponsorship of the camp attended the programme.  Besides these two dignitaries, Rtn. Nandan Kumar, present president of the Rotary, Rtn. Henry Castelino, secretary, Valerain Noronha, president elect and Dr. Edward Lobo were on the dais.

 

In his introductory address, Dr. P.V. Bhandary said that the Rotary Club of Shankerpura has been doing wonderful work by organising the Psychiatric Camps regularly every month since the last  seven years and he has been happy in associating himself with these camps. He made an appeal to the patients to regularly take the tablets as prescribed by the doctors and not to waste them as they get them free of charge.  Further he said that by regularly taking the medication a number of patients have recovered and are leading normal lives.

 

Speaking at this occasion, Fr. Ronald  Fernandes  said that when he attended one of the meetings of the Rotary Club of Shankerpura on the invitation of a member, he was quite impressed with the type of community work that the Rotarians have been doing and he has been trying to contact philanthropists to sponsor these Psychiatric  Camps. When he suggested about this camp to his parishioner, Hilary Pinto who is a businessman in Dubai, he readily agreed and promised that he would sponsor four such camps in the months of the birthdays of himself in December, his wife-Lorna in May and that of his two children Kieve and Keon  in the months of August and September respectively.