KMC to open 16 free special cardio diabetic clinics

Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will open 16 free special cardio diabetic clinics soon, deputy Mayor designate Atin Ghosh said on Tuesday.

The centres will come up in every borough and will be manned by specialised doctors. A costly equipment to do tests of retina will be set up at the KMC health office in Hatibagan. The specialised centres will function as referral centres.

The KMC runs 144 health centres in every Ward where primary care is given to diabetic patients and even costly medicines are given free of cost.

It may be mentioned that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has predicted that India will be the main centre of four diseases by 2025. They are diabetes, coronary heart disease, cancer and depression.

Diabetes has spread like wild fire in India in the past one decade. Its victims are people coming from various economic backgrounds. Children are also suffering from the disease. The number of renal failure cases has gone up due to diabetes. Sedentary habits are one of the major causes of diabetes.

The KMC doctors who treat diabetic patients in the Ward clinics will refer those who need special attention. They will be examined by the specialists there. There will be educators also who will train patients about how to administer Insulin and the medicine will be given free of cost.

The doctors who treat diabetes patients at the Ward level clinics have received training and are handling them regularly. They have been given training by expert endocrinologists.

The number of diabetic patients in the KMC clinics is going up. Moreover, most of the patients do not do eye check-ups and are found to be suffering from diabetic retinopathy. Once the specialised clinics come up, there will be comprehensive treatment available. KMC officials regretted that as the medicines are given free of cost, many people think that the patients are not looked after properly.