‘Clinic on wheels’: Free healthcare services now available at doorsteps in Lahaul-Spiti’s Udaipur

Initiative launched by SBI Foundation, Ashray Foundation

MANDI: The residents of Udaipur block in tribal Lahaul-Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh will now receive free healthcare services at their doorsteps. The ‘Sanjeevani Mobile Medical Unit — Clinic on Wheels’ service has been launched in Udaipur by SBI Foundation (SBIF) and Ashray Foundation. While the service has been operational since April 29, 2024, it was formally inaugurated this weekend.

This philanthropic initiative of the “Sanjeevani Mobile Medical Unit — Clinic on Wheels” is co-funded by SBICAP Securities and the SBIF. The official launch of this free service was conducted by Udaipur SDM Keshav Ram.

Present at the inauguration were SBIF’s president and COO Jagannath Sahoo; SBIF’s Head of Health and Women Empowerment Rajaram Chavan; SBIF’s Assistant Manager of Health and Elderly Care Shalmali Takane; Regional Manager of SBI RBO-Mandi Ravinder Kumar Rana; District Programme Officer of Health and Family Welfare Dr Jagdish Chandra; Program Director of Ashray Foundation Jenisha Dharani; Head of Operations for Ashray Foundation Seema Singh; Trilokinath panchayat pradhan Dinesh and ASHA workers, who formally inaugurated the programme.

On the occasion, SBIF’s president and COO Jagannath Sahoo stated that this initiative by the SBIF will be conducted in collaboration with Ashray Foundation’s Health department. The existing ambulance will serve 20 villages in Lahaul and Spiti, providing primary healthcare services and high-quality medicines to every home.

Every health camp and visit under this initiative will include expert doctors who will prescribe treatments and necessary medications. Ashray Foundation’s Operations Director Seema Singh expressed gratitude towards SBICAP Securities and SBIF for making the “Sanjeevani Mobile Medical Unit — Clinic on Wheels” services accessible to every home and village, and expressed hope for the continued success of this partnership’s philanthropic efforts.

This initiative has been made possible with the support of SBIF Jeevanam, the healthcare branch of SBIF, which is dedicated to making healthcare services accessible to the underprivileged sections of society.

Through its various health programs and around 80 mobile medical units operating across India, SBIF Jeevanam has impacted over 6,00,000 lives. Inspired by the same vision, this on-call free clinic will conduct medical camps in more than 20 villages in the Lahaul and Spiti, providing free health check-ups and medications, along with 12 types of tests including HB, ECG, UPT, uric acid, and RFT. The ambulance will have dedicated team including a doctor, a staff nurse, a pharmacist and a lab technician, and will visit each village twice a month.

So far, similar services by the SBIF and Ashray Foundation have been provided in Panarsa of Mandi district. Since April, these free doorstep services have also been extended to Udaipur in Lahaul Valley, where 1,044 patients have been screened and provided with free medications and test reports within the prompt service of 15 minutes.

Representing the deep roots of its partnership with Ashray Foundation, SBICAP Securities and SBIF undertook a sustainable and humanitarian initiative by donating seven dustbins to CHC Udaipur. Udaipur SDM Keshav Ram appreciated the health services initiated by the SBIF and Ashray Foundation in Lahaul-Spiti district.