Semariya Clinic
The second tier of the community programme are the three subcentres. In these, we have been running weekly mobile outreach clinics at Shivtarai, Semariya and Bamhni villages, each 50 to 75 km away to north and the northwest of Bilaspur town, since March 2000.
One doctor visits the mobile clinic with a nurse, laboratory technician, pharmacy assistant, village health coordinator, registration clerk and driver and attends to 30 to 75 patients, depending on the season. These clinics serve around 50 forest and forest-fringe villages each in a radius of up to 15-20 km.
A distinctive feature of the clinic is the availability of basic laboratory services including malaria and sputum microscopy, which makes treat Crossing the river to reach the ment more rational and effective. The subcentres clinic at Bamhni where these clinics run are manned by two trained senior health workers round the clock These outreach clinics have been particularly beneficial for patients with restricted mobility, e.g. the elderly and women with young children.
Shivtarai
Shivtarai Clinic
The outreach clinic at Shivtarai, a forest-fringe village 43 km to the northwest of Bilaspur town, has been running since March 2000. The clinic at Shivtarai used to function at the local high school on Saturday afternoons after the school closed for the day. In October 2003, the village Panchayat contributed land for a new clinic but construction got delayed because of regulations on construction in forest areas. The new clinic, a brick and mud structure with a tiled roof finally came up in 2005 and we started using it from December 2005.
In 2008, there were 1502 consulations at the Shivtarai clinic
Semariya
Microscope and Lab at a Clinic
The clinic at Semariya village, 42 km to the north of Bilaspur town has been functioning from July 2001. It is very heartening that in Semariya, the villagers spontaneously contributed cash and labour to repair an old house as a permanent site for the clinic.
In 2008, there were 2769 consulations at the Semariya clinic
Bamhni
Crossing the River the to Bamhni
The third clinic at Bamhni village, 70 km to the north of Bilaspur town in the Achanakmaar Game Sancturary, started functioning in May 2003. This is the most remote of our clinics and it is not possible to drive on the road to Bamhni in the monsoons, even with a jeep with a four-wheel drive. Therefore, the clinic team parks the jeep in the last village on the way to Bamhni, treks a kilometre over mud to reach the Maniyari river, wades through waist deep water to cross the river, and then treks another two kilometres to reach the village.
In 2008, there were 2132 consulations at the Shivtarai clinic
