To provide healthcare benefits to 23 lakh people in Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee has announced launch of 'Sebaashray' programme from January 2 next year.
The Sebaashray programme would continue for two and half months.
The TMC National general secretary said the programme would be launched at Amtala under the constituency and it will cover 23 lakh residents across seven assembly constituencies, 71 rural gram panchayats, and 93 urban wards.
"The initiative is supported by a camp machinery consisting of 1,200 doctors, 500 diagnisticians, 1,500 volunteers and 12 referral hospitals," he said on Saturday. Over 2,800 active camp days are planned, with 40 camps operating daily with an expected footfall of 500 people at every camp on an average.
"... The biggest challenge to give proper medical care, identified by us, was there should be sufficient availability of doctors to be able to provide medical assistance to over 23 lakh people. We realised that doctors will not be able to give more than two days' time every week due to their prior professional commitments.
"We initially thought that having a team of 300 doctors would suffice. However, we soon realised that to be able to serve 23 lakh people across 2,000 booths of the constituency over multiple days at a stretch, we will need a minimum of 400 to 500 doctors. I was warned that it would be difficult to get so many doctors for this initiative. However, I was informed last night that over 1,200 doctors shared their details and we were not able to accommodate them all in the auditorium today," he said at the programme on Saturday.
Banerjee said after the end of the Sebaashray initiative in March 2025 a convention of 5,000 doctors will be organised.
"We will make efforts to organise a convention of 5,000 doctors before Bengali New Year in Kolkata. We will ensure that doctors who couldn't be with us today are accommodated in that event. I am sure that the bond that all the elected representatives of Diamond Harbour and I will be forming with the medical community today will stay with us for a lifetime. This is the Diamond Harbour Model," he said.
"We will be running health camps in every Assembly constituency for 10 days with a minimum of 40 camps per constituency. The camps will start in Diamond Harbour followed by Falta, Satgachhia, Bishnupur, Metiabruz, Budge Budge and Maheshtala, the TMC MP said.
"From January 2 – 11, this programme will happen in Diamond Harbour. January 12 onwards, it will start in Falta and so on and so forth. We will cover 7 Assembly constituencies in 70 days. In the last five days, we will reorganise the camps in multiple booths", he said.
This can be referred to as 'Duare Swasthya Porisheba', he said.
The services that will be provided at these camps alongside doctor consultations including free medicines, check-ups on BMI and blood pressure as well as tests for dengue and malaria, he said.
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