Our free out patient clinic treats around 650 poor and underprivileged Hill Tribe patients per month. Many are shy and superstitious and prefer to come to us as we are long established with many Tribal staff who speak the local languages and understand local customs and priorities. The clinic is part of our wider health programme which also includes a 12 bed ward and a daily mobile clinic which services remote hamlets. These are supported by government, the outpatient service is not.
Shy and timid Tribal patients who are sometimes superstitious and reluctant to seek treatment and often end up at the back of the queue, slip through the net, or do not access those facilities provided for them due to the above or language difficulties.
Our experienced staff, many of them Tribal, are familiar with the locality, Tribal languages and customs etc. and are sympathetic to the need to treat in appropriate ways. In addition, our field staff refer patients for treatment when they come across them in the villages. Our long experience of working with Tribals in the health and education fields means we have a good reputation and rapport with the Tribal community. In addition, we are the only free inpatient facility in the area.
The long term impact is to provide a free quality health service and create a healthy and health conscious Tribal community who are willing and able to seek quality health care at our centres or elsewhere.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
