community medicine
Services
Rural Health Training Centres
Objective
To set a primary health care service delivery model as a tool for learning for the undergraduate as well as postgraduate medical students.
Functions and Activities
- Diagnosis and treatment of common medical problems.
- Training of undergraduates and postgraduate medical students.
- Maintain records of Health/demographic profile of the population served.
- Promoting reproductive and child health services.
- School health program.
- Involving national health programs/ Importance days.
- Spreading health awareness through health education programs.
- Reaching the underprivileged through outreach services.
Field Practicing Area
- Seliamedu
- Aranganur
- Nirnayapattu
- Kudirupalayam
- Pinnachikuppam
- Adingapattu
- Melazhingapattu
- Kumaramangalam
Intensive Coverage Area
- Selimedu
- Aranganur
- Kudiyiruppu palayam
- Nirnayapattu
Urban Health Training Centre
Objectives
- To serve as a field practice area for the training of medical undergraduates, postgraduates and nursing students as per MCI requirements
- To provide preventive, promotive, curative and rehabilitative service to an urban population
- To implement National Health Programs in the urban area
- To prepare and implement the short term research projects (ICMR-STS projects), if any  in the urban community
- To have research training for postgraduate students for their MD dissertation
Services and Facilities - Patient care
- General OPD on all working days
- Monday Specialty Clinics: ENT and OphthalmologyÂ
- Tuesday Specialty Clinics: Psychiatry
- Thursday Specialty Clinics: Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Paediatrics and Dermatology
Initiatives and Activities at RHTC and UHTC
National Health Programmes
Department of Community Medicine, RHTC, UHTC staffs along with interns, medical officer, postgraduates and faculties take active part on various National Health Programmes like Pulse Polio Programme, RNTCP etc.,
Maternal and Child Health Programme
ANMs posted at UHTC and RHTC, visit field practice area and identify the new ANC cases. They also try to identify the complications among pregnant mothers and refer them to MGMCRI and other hospitals for further care. They conduct frequent health education sessions among ANC mothers and communicate their health status with pregnant mothers and family members. ANMs ensure that all pregnant mothers to get ANC care to have a healthy mother and child. Besides this, ANMs also have health awareness programmes on different themes in the vicinity area. Interns, medical officer and postgraduate students under the guidance of faculty from the department of community medicine take an active part in organizing these sessions.
School Health Education
Health education activities are also carried out in few schools nearby the UHTC and RHTC. Interns, PGs and faculties have educated and discussed topics like personal hygiene, anaemia &Â reproductive health among the students.
Ante Natal Care Services
New Registrations
As soon as any women are confirmed as pregnant, she is registered by ANM. She will be given time to time advice & checkups will be done. She will be encouraged to have institutional delivery for a better outcome.
Repeat ANC Visits
 All ANCs in the field practice area is being visited regularly. Iron Folic acid tablets and TT immunization are being advised to those who have not taken according to guidelines.
High Risk Cases Identified
 High-risk pregnancies are identified and referred to a higher centre for better management.       Â
Universal Immunisation Programme
ANMs are visiting in the field practice area and ensure that each child under five years of age must receive all vaccines against vaccine-preventable diseases. Usually, it is seen that children are being immunized at government Primary Health Centers/hospitals.
ANC TT Immunisation
Unimmunized pregnant women are identified and referred to nearest PHC for TT immunization.
ICTC
Patients who require counselling and testing of HIV status will be referred to as ICTC (Integrated Counseling & Testing Center) at MGMCRI.
Dental OPD
Dental OPD is running at UHTC and RHTC. Full-time dentist and interns from Indira Gandhi Dental College are giving services in dental OPD. Services include dental scaling, filling & extraction and treatment for other routine dental problems are given at free of cost.
Laboratory Service
Both RHTC & UHTCÂ has laboratory services. Investigations include Hb estimation, Blood group, ESR, Urine-Albumin &sugar and blood sugar levels etc at free of cost. While investigations such as lipid profile, Thyroid profile and another test, a sample is taken and sent to MGMCRI central lab for a report on payment basis. This has helped people in a great way.
Outreach Health Camps
Every year the Department organizes multi-speciality health camps in collaboration with other organizations. In these camps, IEC materials prepared by students are displayed to aim at promoting health-seeking behaviour in the long term. Unlike another general curative health camp, these camps target more of preventive and promotive health working, majorly on building awareness regarding common ailments, family planning methods, nutrition, hygiene, and sanitation. At times these medical camps also provide comprehensive multi-speciality health services at free of cost. Faculty members across various departments of the institution also contribute to these camps.
Regular visits to Establishments/Centres
Regular visits are being done by the post-graduates to get the exposure of functioning of government health care systems namely Sub-Health Centre, Primary Health Centre, Community Health Centre, Anganwadi centre, Vector control research centre, Government chest clinic , Sewage treatment plant, Water treatment plant, District leprosy centre, Pondicherry AIDS control Society (PACS), Commune Panchayat.
Apart from these visits, the department also collaborates with other non-profit organizations/units like SOS Village, Helpage India and Village Knowledge Centre (VKC) to provide preventive and curative services. Â Â Â
Facilities & Service
Patient care:
I. Outpatient Department (OPD) Services:
General OPD
Specialist OPDs:
- General Medicine
- Paediatrics
- Obstetrics and Gynaecology
- Dentistry
- Psychiatry
- Ophthalmology
- ENT etc.
- Physiotherapy
- Music therapy
- Yoga therapy
Extension OPD: Extension OPD are conducted in nearby villages with the team of Post graduate, Interns, MSW’s, Public health nurse and Health educator. This team will cater to the General OPD as well as health education wherever opportunities arises.