Health and Welfare

At Mettupalayam we encourage health improvement in several ways.

Primary health clinic

We organise a weekly clinic on the school site which is run by a local doctor and nurse. Covid 19 saw a temporary halt, but clinics have now restarted with a new doctor. He will regularly see 50 + patients from the locality at the Friday clinic and this has the huge benefit of continuity, building of relationships and trust with the local people. India has a shortage of qualified health workers and the workforce is concentrated in urban areas. Previously villagers may not have sought out healthcare due to distance, cost and poor service at the government hospital. The clinic at Mettupalayam encourages patients to seek and access care when they otherwise may ignore symptoms and allows the doctor to refer on to government run district hospitals for blood test and investigations when needed.

Part of the development of this service over recent years has been to ensure that records are made of consultations and medicines administered. We now have comprehensive paper records kept securely at the clinic and hope to revisit the possibilities of using electronic records in the future.
Medicines are now securely stored and monitored at the clinic at the project. These medicines are commonly used things such as analgesia and antibiotics and skin preparations. This relationship and regular connection ensure individuals are encouraged to access other services as required for e.g., child immunisations at government clinics.

Eye Care

We work with the local Rotary and Lions clubs to provide health camps including mobile eye clinics which provide  eye checks and cataract clinics.