Helping Hands Medical Project Jadan

Trust Helping Hands Medical Project Jadan India -

to enhance accessibility and quality of medical care in India.

Vera Špatenková, M.D., Ph.D.

chairman of the board of the trust, Liberec,

Czech Republic

Summary

The trust of the Helping Hands Medical Project Jadan India was established on the 15th March 2012 in the Czech Republic to support activities contributing to the improvement of accessibility and quality of healthcare provided in India. My experience of working as a healthcare provider in India in the summer of 2011 inspired me to start the project. I helped to provide medical care, first I spent 3 weeks working at the Goyal Hospital in Jodhpur, and then 2 weeks at the hospital in Jadan. I had the opportunity to observe the Indian healthcare system up close, and saw how professionally, financially, administratively and technically demanding it is to provide quality healthcare. Although progress has been made in the last few years, standards of healthcare, training and in particular hygiene have not reached the necessary level, especially in government hospitals. In private hospitals the provided care is very expensive, as pay for all procedures, materials and drugs must be paid for. State hospitals are often unavailable. Only the poorest people can have their treatment for free, all others must pay for drugs.

The aim of the project is to support the improvement of healthcare for all those who need it in the above mentioned region. The project includes the construction and equipment of health facilities in India, exspecially Sri Swami Madhavananda Austria Hospital in Jadan, medical care for socially excluded groups of people and also volunteers living in India. The trust is also focused on supporting education of nurses and doctors with the participation of well-known foreign lecturers. It also aims to improve the quality of the health and hygiene education of the whole population.