Shashank Shekhar
Dhanbad ( Jharkhand) : Tata Steel has dedicated a reconstructive surgery unit to its Jamadoba Hospital (Dhanbad) comprising a 10 bed hospital for leprosy patients. It provides free treatment to those disabled due to leprosy.
The reconstructive surgery unit was inaugurated by social activist Ruchi Narendran on May 24, 2017, in the presence of Dr Sudha Srivastav, District Leprosy Officer, and Dr Ajay Rohatgi, chief medical officer. Speaking on the occasion, Narendran said that awareness was the key to check the spread of the disease and activists of the organisation would visit different locations of Dhanbad district and create awareness about leprosy.
In 2009, a disability care unit SPARSH (a joint venture of Tata Steel and LEPRA) was started at Jamadoba hospital. The organisation is providing OPD services to the needy which include information, education and communication (IEC) on the subject, provision for specially designed protective footwear, physiotherapy, prevention of disability (POD), prevention of worsening disability (POWD), amongst others. This hospital will support patients with surgery if required.The Reconstructive Surgery Centre (RCS) would provide pre-operative and post-operative care. Earlier, this surgery was done at the Purulia Leprosy Mission Hospital.
Twenty patients from Bhagalpur, Banka, Munger, Sahebganj and Dhanbad districts of Bihar and Jharkhand respectively are likely to benefit from it with assistance of the Lepra society. During the inauguration, two tricycles, a Wheel chair and two crutches were distributed to the needy.