Tarjina Begum, 25, is now happy as she has been blessed with a healthy baby after availing all requisite antenatal care (ANC) and postnatal care (PNC) from a nearby community clinic (CC). Begum, wife of Sabur Ali of Bamandighi village under Charghat upazila, took all the four-phase ANC and three-phase PNC from Bamandighi CC timely and accurately.
“I got the opportunity of taking the essential services with advantage of the CC. It was not possible for us to go to any upazila or district level hospital repeatedly due to our financial hardship,” she said while talking to media.
She terms the Bamandighi CC as vital means for regular medical checkup.
After getting her doorstep services she’s mentally satisfied. Not only Begum but also many other poor and disadvantaged people including pregnant mothers are getting primary healthcare services from the CC, 10 kilometers off the Upazila Health Complex.
From the CC level health education sessions, the grassroots mothers are becoming aware about the importance of regular checkup of pregnant mothers for safe delivery.
Tarjina Begum expressed her gratitude to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her initiative of re-launching the CC.
While visiting the Bamandighi CC recently, this correspondent found that some patients were taking health services from community healthcare provider (CHCP).
CHCP Helal Uddin said every day we give health services to around 35 patients, including pregnant women and children. Helal urged the authorities concerned to provide more medicine free of cost as most of the low-income people cannot afford medicine. “People are getting health education, referral advice, pregnancy checkup, reproductive health services, de-warming and vaccination at the clinics that brought healthcare services to their doorsteps,” said Rajshahi Civil Surgeon Dr. Samjit Kumar Shaha.
He mentioned that the CCs are being made capable for normal delivery through imparting training to the family welfare assistants and visitors besides supplying necessary instruments.
The CCs are functioning with the main thrust of elevating the essential services besides enhancing knowledge level about health and disease control among the community people as a whole.
Dr Anisur Rahman, Divisional Director of Health, said there are 1936 functional CCs in Rajshahi division. Around 1.58 crore patients including 1.11 crore women and 13.75 lakh babies and infants were provided with healthcare services from the CCs in 2017.
