The Ponty Chadha Foundation: Facilitating Rural Healthcare

With the United Nations report hinting towards chronic lack of medical facilities in rural areas, it is needless to underline that healthcare system in India has never been inclusive. While 75% of the healthcare system, including doctors and infrastructure, is concentrated in urban areas, rural India with almost 716 million people, faces critical health issues. Even though current healthcare infrastructure is centred on metropolitan cities, the irony remains that it is accessible to only those who can afford it.

One of the most critical requirements for an effective healthcare system in rural India is that of doctors. It is a matter of acute importance that rural India faces a shortage of doctors, as much as 64%.

The UN report suggests a shortage of more than 12,300 specialist doctors. Cognitive to this shortage, The Ponty Chadha Foundation (PCF), along with the Indo German Hospital, regularly organizes medical camps in the remote areas of North India and Delhi NCR.

With an aim to empower medical facilities in these areas, the Foundation set up another medical camp in the Village Inayatpur.  The camp which was held on 17^th December started off its proceedings at 1000 hours. While the assemblage started queuing up in the early hours of the day, the Foundation’s’ volunteers were well-prepared to manage them well.  Administering free aid and advice on general health, the camp had a specialized team of doctors from the Indo German Hospital which also looked into critical health conditions.

The camp which was set up in the premises of the Pradhan’s residence had ample space to accommodate the registration process and seating arrangement. Since it was a strong turnout, the volunteers were kept on their toes while facilitating free check-ups.

A total of 141 patients out of 350 families attended the camp, during which they were guided through check points with OPD cards. During the course of the camp, it came out that a majority of the villagers suffered from respiratory and gastro related health problems. The volunteers in conversation with the locals also confirmed that various skin and gynaecological problems were also common in the residents of Inayatpur.

Benefitting from the camp, a large percentage of residents got free medicines from the doctors and others with critical issues were further recommended to the Indo German Hospital.

The Ponty Chadha Foundation, CSR arm of Wave Group, is now a prominent name in social drives, and endeavours towards a healthy India by constantly organizing free health camps in remote areas.

Giving Rural Healthcare a Boost: Ponty Chadha Foundation

India’s growth over the past few years has made it one of the rising economies worldwide. That growth however has not been inclusive, certainly not when it comes to public healthcare. 

While towns and cities have banked on the economic spike and strong healthcare infrastructures have come up, rural India seems alienated from such benefits. There is extreme lack of facilities in some places and professional access is vulnerable. 

The village of Shadipur Chiddoli brings out the real picture of India’s rural healthcare. In a village dominated by population of women and children, there is no regulated medicare facility which has left the villagers indisposed and vulnerable to disorders of joints and skin. 

On learning of the state of affairs in the village, the Ponty Chadha Foundation, which is the CSR arm of the Wave Group, held a health camp on 3rd December, 2014 to spread awareness about common disorders and conduct free medical check-ups with doctors from the Indo German Hospital joining in. 

Anticipating a huge gathering, the premises of a local school were brought into use. An examination and dispensing centre was set up and patients were asked to undergo mandatory registrations which began at 10 AM and continued on until the camp ended at 1 PM. 

During the examinations, it came out that a high number of the villagers showed signs of developing skin, gynecological, and joint issues. On interacting with them, volunteers from the Ponty Chadha Foundation realized that lack of awareness and options were the leading causes for the villagers neglecting evident symptoms.

A session was then held educating the villagers on the advantages of timely treatment and early diagnosis. Some villagers who were found showing developing symptoms were referred to the Indo-German Hospital where they would be administered treatment and advanced diagnostics. 

Rural healthcare is one of the areas of social welfare undertaken by Ponty Chadha Foundation, the CSR subsidiary of the Wave Group. Its outreach spans food fortification and special education. Under Vice Chairman Manpreet Chadha (Monty Chadha) the Wave group has gone on to become one of India’s leading realty conglomerates. 

Transforming Rural Health: Ponty Chadha Foundation

Healthcare is a fundamental right but many in India, especially rural India, do not get to enjoy it. Endogenous and exogenous factors continue to thwart thousands in rural areas from accessing fundamental healthcare.

The village of Shekhpur Khicra is a classic allegory of lack of healthcare facilities and rising cases that seek medical attention. After philanthropic organization Ponty Chadha Foundation overviewed the situation, it discovered medical attention was long overdue and set up a health camp on November 26^th 2014.  

The premises of the village school were drawn upon for hosting the event. Things kicked off early at 10 AM when the attendees started pouring in. Teams of doctors from the Indo German Hospital had joined in and together with volunteers from the Foundation they ensured things ensued in a businesslike manner.

A communications center was also set up where registrations took place. Every attendee had to register before they could see the doctor and an OPD card for the same was issued. Medicines and aid were thereafter given out from a separate counter within the premises.

On interacting with the gathering, volunteers from the Ponty Chadha Foundation realized the village had been facing gynecological and gastro issues but due to lack of options and awareness, they had not been able to seek proper treatment.  A short counselling session on the need of timely treatment and addressing many long-standing queries was also held.

 It also came out during the exchange that the village is made up by a large population of children and infants who were particularly indisposed to the lowly hygiene culture that prevails in the area. The volunteers then went on to discuss and spread awareness on the importance of hygiene and how the villagers could raise the bar on personal hygiene.

Some of the patients were found exhibiting signs of respiratory and joint issues and a few had to be referred to Indo German Hospital where they will be offered advanced diagnostics and treatment.

Ponty Chadha Foundation is the philanthropic wing of Wave Group established in memory of late Mr. Gurdeep Chadha. Its areas of influence include childcare, special education, and food provisioning.

PCF organizes health camp in Village Dinanathpur

Health is a privilege denied to many. While in theory, there shouldn’t be any demographic or racial divide in access to basic amenities and social services to the citizens of a nation, things play out very differently in India.

The rural-urban divide in the country continues to pit a huge disparity between the general health and wellbeing of the populace. While on one hand, modern amenities and medical facilities are increasingly improved for city dwellers, access to even basic healthcare and diagnostics is difficult for the rural public. And, as most of India –or most of its poor—live in the villages, dearth of qualified medical functionaries and basic healthcare infrastructure continues to be the biggest challenge that thwarts growth of the nation.

Identifying this national concern, the Ponty Chadha Foundation has set about making a change at the grassroots level. In a series of healthcare initiatives taken up by them to increase the outreach of medical facilities to the underserved, a health camp was organized at Village Dinanathpur in collaboration with the Indo German Hospital, on November 19^th. Starting off at 1000 hrs. morning, the camp saw a huge crowd turn up with as many as 121 patients from 300 families undergo examination until 1pm.

The Foundation had its experienced volunteers working together to avoid any pandemonium. The huge playground of the village government school was let out to provide ample room for the patients to be comfortably seated while they awaited their turn. Separate registration, check-up and medicine distribution counters were setup to further systemize the operation. A patient would have to first obtain a token number and get their name and age registered on the OPD card; then, they would wait for getting examined, following which medicaments from the dedicated counter could be collected.  

The doctors at the camp did a thorough check-up after which a few cases were referred to the Indo German hospital for further diagnostics and treatment. They also spread awareness about safe sanitation practices and its importance in general well-being.

The doctors said that most complaints pertained to respiratory problems and joint pain which could have been well-addressed with timely treatment. This message was passed on to the villagers and was evidently was well received.

Ponty Chadha Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Wave Group and works towards social welfare through special childcare and food supply.

A Healthcare Call by Ponty Chadha Foundation

At a time when health services are skewed towards urban dwellers that have access to 66% of available hospital beds in the country, parts of rural India cope up on their own. With inadequate healthcare facilities and infrastructure in rural parts, studies reveal that over three-fifth of village population travels over 5km on average just to find a healthcare utility.

Insufficiency in public healthcare leads such people to set hope towards private healthcare but it results in affordability issues. Aware of this anomaly, Ponty Chadha Foundation (PCF) organizes camps in remote regions across the country to help create self-awareness and broader national perspective.

The latest camp for this endeavour took place on 29th October in Raghunathpur and addressed general health problems faced by the villagers. The event was organized in collaboration with Indo German Hospital and administered free advice, aid, and guidance on safe healthcare-related practices.

To hold a large number of attendees, the premises of a local school were used. Proceedings began at 10 in the morning and continued till 1 pm.  While the doctors and paramedics conducted health checks, the volunteers of Ponty Chadha Foundation controlled crowd and logistics management.

Villagers were guided through a check point where they were provided tokens after they had filled out OPD cards. The event was well-executed right through as the teams of doctors, paramedics, and the Foundation displayed excellent coordination.

The ensemble of over a hundred and twenty two was treated for common healthcare problems that had before been untreated. When it came out that quite a few of them exhibited signs of body pain and Asthma, the most vulnerable were referred to Indo German Hospital for further treatment.

The camp was part of the drive Ponty Chadha Foundation undertakes in different regions across India to provide aid and bring to the forefront issues of local and national significance.

Website: http://thepontychadhafoundation.com/

Ponty Chadha Foundation Organizes Healthcare Camp in Village Kachera

The Ponty Chadha Foundation (PCF) organized a free healthcare camp in the village of Kachera on November 12th 2014 which was held from 10 am to 1 pm at the premises of a village temple and attracted huge gathering. .

The camp lasted nearly three hours with suitable arrangements for seating for the crowd which had begun building up early.  A pre-examination process was put in place where tokens were assigned to patients after getting their details on an OPD card. A separate counter for collecting medicines was also set up.

During the examination, doctors found vulnerability against anemia and gynecological issues was rather high among the villagers, and some of them were referred for further examination and treatment to the Indo German Hospital.

As one of the doctors from the camp observed, “There is a section of people who suffer from serious health issues but never go to a doctor because of lack of proper facilities. If they get early diagnosis, they can prevent a life-threatening situation.”

The day started building up early and when the examination was complete by 1 PM, 143 members from 600 families had enlisted free healthcare.

The camp was held in collaboration with Indo-German Hospital with the objective of raising awareness on general healthcare. Upon interacting with some attendees who had attended the camp, PCF volunteers found the villagers with greater understanding of issues they previously had little knowledge of.

Talking about the initiative Mr. Manjir Ghosh, Head CSR, Wave Group & CEO Ponty Chadha Foundation said, "It was the vision of our late Chairman Mr. Ponty Chadha to provide proper diagnostic facilities to the poor and needy people. He believed that lack of such facilities only lead to their poor heath and so proper diagnosis is crucial. Our attempts are wholeheartedly and sincerely directed towards addressing these grassroots problems wherein people do not get medical assistance due to financial constraints.”

Ponty Chadha Foundation works towards enabling equitable healthcare across all sections and demography. Its initiatives span special child education and healthcare and continue to spread awareness on these issues among the rural populace.

Ponty Chadha Foundation’s Village Naiphal Health Camp

As much as India has progressed on spreading basic healthcare far and wide, villages still seem a forbidden lot.  Some of them, like village Naiphal in Ghaziabad, still don’t have facilities of their own and rely largely on facilities a fair distance off.

Rather ironically, the village that has lately been notified as an urban body has no medicare facility of its own but hinges on the single government setup in Dasna Tehsil for its own health. This has made medicare hard to come by for villagers, many of whom face signs of respiratory, joint pain, and vision disorders.

When Ponty Chadha Foundation zeroed in on this particular village, it found many of the villagers warranted a medical prognosis of the signs they had developed. The Foundation took cognizance of this and on the morning of September 6^th 2014, a large-scale health camp was organised at the village temple premises.

Doctors and teams of paramedics from Dr. Ram Saran Garg Indo German Hospital voluntarily stepped in as part of the drive to administer free aid and advise the villagers on general healthcare. The event picked up steam quite early as eager villagers made a beeline for the camp, and by 0700 hours, a sizable gathering had queued up for making mandatory registrations. 

Nearly 700 families attended the event which culminated around 1300 hours after every attendee had got medical aid and attention from the teams of doctors and assistants. The temple premises aided coordination and order with ample seating arrangements made in advance by the PCF teams.

The objective of the camp to provide aid and educate the villagers on early diagnosis was successfully achieved as a number of the attendees with signs of likely respiratory, vision, and joint-related disorders chose to pursue further treatment at the Indo German hospital. PCF and the hospital also pledged aid and support to these villagers pursuing further line of treatment.

The Ponty Chadha Foundation actively takes up social welfare.  Health camps in remote areas are one of the ways the Foundation brings up rural health to the forefront. The current drive focuses on villages in North India and Delhi NCR which lack even basic healthcare access. The Foundation’s outreach extends to charities and organisations actively involved in social upliftment, one noted among those being the Mata Bhagwanti Chadha Niketan (MBCN).