Jalandhar, December 2
Keeping in view the rising cases related to heart trouble in the region, Military Hospital, Jalandhar, will soon get a cardiac laboratory.

Lieut-Gen L.P. Sadhotra, Director-General Medical Services (Army), said this while interacting with mediapersons at Vajra Central Hall where he had come to attend the opening ceremony of the two-day Continuing Medical Education programme on “Hospital-acquired infections” here today.

The DGMS said the people of Punjab had become obese and the incidents of cardiac diseases were far too high owing to which the patients had to be sent to New Delhi for treatment which was not convenient. “Though the hospital has a cardiologist, there are no facilities for surgery,” he explained.

General Sadhotra did not clearly specify the time frame by which the new laboratory would be ready as he said “it will take some time. Let’s see when the project materialises”.

Talking about the cases of stress management in the armed forces, he stressed: “The issue has simply been hyped up. The incidents of stress are far too low in the armed forces, barely 0.3 per cent as compared to 3 to 5 per cent in the civil.”

He further emphasized: “Whichever minor cases have happened are also due to domestic reasons – love tangles, marital discords and property feuds. We have hardly ever found reason of service-related stress.”

Earlier delivering his speech at the opening of programme, he said communal infections were the cause of 5 per cent deaths in hospitals in developed countries.

“But in developing nations like ours, the mortality rate is as high as 15 to 20 per cent and effort must be made to curtail such preventive deaths. Various procedures followed such as ventilators, intra-venal lines, cardiac stents and other invasive methods followed were the sources of hospital acquired infections”, he highlighted.

The DGMS also stressed that no touch techniques should be adopted during a ward round.

“By touching a patient and moving on to the next patient without washing hands, we are transmitting the disease. There should never be a slip shot in professing the no touch aseptic formula” he repeated time and again.

General Sadhotra also gave a take home message to staff from Army Medical Corps as he said: “Be discrete in advising antibiotics or else there will be no way left to deal with drug resisted microbes.”

Among those who attended the programme were Lieut-Gen Noble Thamburaj, GOC, Vajra Corps, Mr Arvind Ranjan, IG, BSF, Brig Charanjit Singh, Deputy Director Medical Services, and Brig A. Kayastha, Commandant, Military Hospital, Jalandhar.

Jalandhar, December 2
Over 450 persons, including children, who have been shunned by their own family owing to their physical and mental challenges, have found a home at Pingla Ghar here on Gulab Devi Hospital.

Abandoned on footpaths, railway station, outside religious places and even outside its gates, these people who had no shelter and no one to look after their needs, have begun their life afresh here. Not only are they being treated for their medical problems, they are also being taught ways to become independent by imparting various vocational training activities.

Run by the Lotus Bawa Group, the inmates have specialist doctors attending them round the clock. They get medicines and proper meals at the right time. They are made to exercise every morning and evening as per the instructions of two physiotherapists visiting Pingla Ghar. Those who are young, even go to school being run in the same building and others are ferried to St Soldier Divine School with which the centre has tied up.

Ask them and none of them would want to go back home. In fact, the love and the care that they get in Pingla Ghar has made them forget their homes.

Rukmani (26), who has slight deformity in her legs, was just three years old when her parents left her outside the institution by her parents. She does not know who her parents and she neither likes to discuss that.

“I may not have my parents, but I have definitely found scores of my siblings among the young girls and boys in this home. I could not walk till I was six years. Then I was operated upon here and I started walking though I limp a bit. They have sent me to school. I have recently passed out Plus Two from HMV College. I have learnt art and craft from the ITI. Now I am working as an art and craft teacher,” she narrates her story

Kiran, barely six years, is polio afflicted and cannot move around. She is helped by her caretaker Malti. Kiran is currently taking education in the school within the complex.

But the most pitiable state is that of few adults there, some of whom even go volatile and have to be kept in isolation. There is a separate block for such people in the centre. A few men there are so badly crippled that they even cannot sit up and have to be fed while they remain lied down.

But all those who are physically healthy but mentally slow move around independently and share their feelings with the friends as they bask in the Sun. Many such men and women who have improved a bit are now acting as volunteers and helping for taking care of others. Such people are also being paid some pocket money, said the manager, Col Multani.

Many such women are also helping at the dinning hall for laying the tables and cleaning these off after every shift. The hall has an adjoining kitchen equipped with huge electric cookers and machines to knead the floor.

Caretakers of Pingla Ghar said the monthly running cost of the institution was running in several lakhs of rupees. They said that even though major expenses including those of maintenance and renovation were incurred by Mr Atamjit Singh Bawa of Lotus Bawa Group, other expenses such as those of medicines, salaries of 125 employees, meals and clothings were depended largely on donations by some Good Samaritans.

Phagwara, December 2
Two persons were killed in two incidents here the past 24 hours.

According to railway police sources, an unidentified man aged around 60 boarded a goods train at the Jalandhar railway station. As the train slowed down near Saprod village in Phagwara, he tried to alight the moving train and fell down on the tracks, resulting in his death.

In another incident, Parminder Kaur, a resident of Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar, consumed some poisonous substance.

As per police sources, her family members took her to DMC Hospital, Ludhiana, where she was declared brought dead.

Nawanshahr, December 2
Paramjit (28), a resident of Saroya village in Balachaur subdivision, was murdered last night following a quarrel between him and his friend Balram. The reason of dispute could not be known.

The police has registered a case against Balram, his brother Harminder and their father Dharam Pal.