THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and heart diseases overtaking communicable diseases as a leading cause of death, a national prevention and control programme will be initiated in Pathanamthitta district next month by the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).The launch of the Non-Communicable Diseases Control Programme (NCDCP) in Pathanamthitta will be followed by the implementation of the same in four other districts - Thrissur, Kozhikode, Idukki and Alappuzha. By the end of the 12th Five-Year-Plan, all districts in the state are expected to be covered by the NCDP.“The control and prevention of these diseases are heavily dependant on early diagnosis. Hence screening for the blood pressure and blood glucose at the sub-centres will be the primary intervention,” said NRHM director Biju Prabhakar. “Apart from providing early diagnosis, we intend to build capacity at various levels of health care to provide treatment,” he said.The initial screening at sub-centres will be followed up by referring suspected cases to the Community Health Centres (CHC), which may in turn refer difficult cases to district hospitals and if needed to the tertiary care centres such as the medical college hospitals. In Pathanamthitta district, the General Hospital is being upgraded to provide a regular clinic for the prevention of non-communicable diseases (NCD), that will be open six days a week. All the 230 subcentres and the 13 Community Health Centres (CHC) in the district will be part of the programme. The CHCs will have an NCD clinic functional on particular days of the week.The CHCs will be equipped to screen blood sugar, lipid profile, ECG, ultrasound, X-ray and management of diseases such as diabetes and stroke. The district hospital will have more advanced disease investigation facilities such as the Kidney Function Test, Liver Function test and colposcopy among others. The Pathanamthitta General Hospital will also have a six-bed Cardio Care Unit (CCU) for patients with cardiac problems, who require intensive care. “Our aim is to make this fully functional before the Sabarimala season. We have received funds from the Central Government. The glucometers and glucostrips for the monitoring of the blood glucose have already been procured and the ICU is getting ready,” said the state nodal officer of the project, Dr S A Hafiz.The CCUs have been set up at the Pathanamthitta General Hospital in response to the reports that dozens of pilgrims get affected with cardiac problems during various stages of the pilgrimage. The CCUs will be functional by October. Dr Hafiz said that the NCD control programme in Pathanamthitta would also have a component for cancer control, cancer being another non-communicable disease often caused by lifestyle changes. The district cancer facility will provide therapy, including chemotherapy during daytime and will be attached to a tertiary care centre such as the Regional Cancer Centre and Medical Colleges.
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