Guwahati, July 9: The international working president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Pravin Togadia, a qualified cancer surgeon, today donned the doctor's coat here when he launched a helpline (186023336666) that aims to provide free medical consultancy to the poor.
Through the helpline, the VHP also intends to provide "low cost" treatment to the poor who cannot afford private medical treatment.
Addressing a meeting at Lions Eye Hospital here at Chatribari, Togadia, a surgical oncologist, said: "India was once a land of healthy people, but now it has become a land of the diseased. One third of the population is suffering from diseases. If this situation continues, in the next 20 years every second Indian will be suffering from diseases."
He blamed lifestyle changes for this trend.
"In India, at present, Rs 14 lakh crore is spent annually for medical treatment which will become Rs 280 lakh crore in another 20 years. We want to bring it down to Rs 5 lakh crore," he said.
According to him, India's healthcare budget is less than 2 per cent of the GDP, lower than neighbouring Nepal and Bangladesh.
He added that the health sector in the country is being neglected by successive governments causing deterioration of its citizens' health.
Togadia said the helpline, called India Health Line (IHL), is a connect between around 35 crore needy patients and consultant doctors who want to serve them.
He said the IHL currently has more than 10,000 consultant doctors from Kerala to Kashmir and their aim is to increase it to 50,000 doctors.
Elaborating on the programme, Togadia said: "As part of the service, patients will be treated free of cost. Any poor patient, calling the helpline number, will be directed to the local health coordinator.
The coordinator will assist the patient in getting free consultation with a locally-available specialist doctor and later at the government or private hospital.
Any person, irrespective of caste, community and religion could avail themselves of the service."
"We have also launched a dedicated mobile app for those who either want to donate or need blood urgently. We have connected 10 lakh blood donors with the help of this mobile app known as Blood 4 India. Through this, we are trying to bridge the gap between donors and recipients of blood across the country," he said.
Togadia added that the VHP is training more than 7,000 "health ambassadors" who will go to the people and create awareness about health issues and lifestyle diseases.
"The health ambassadors, who will be provided with equipment such as glucometers, blood pressure monitors, among others, will also provide free medical check-ups for patients suffering from hypertension, diabetes, obesity and others through door-to-door approach," he said.
