HOLISTIC HEALTHCARE
APIRADEE TREERUTKUARKUL
Diabetic patients at Noan Fong Kaew village in Kalasin province exercise by tearing newspapers with their feet. The so-called ``Foot Clinic'' treats diabetics, and tackles the causes of diabetic neuropathy which could lead to amputation in some severe cases. |
KALASIN : Buala Surisai chats with friends as she tears a newspaper into pieces and rolls it into a small ball- with her feet.
Once a month, the 71-year-old Kalasin native comes to this "Foot Clinic," which is a 10-minute drive from her village, to join an exercise class for diabetic patients.
Mrs Buala has been suffering from diabetes for over 35 years. She used to have walking problems due to nerve damage, also called diabetic neuropathy. She could not feel any pain despite having wounds and corns on her feet.
However, she found that exercise at the foot clinic improved her condition.
Tearing up newspapers by foot is one of the core activities diabetic patients must engage in at the remote Noan Fong Kaew village in this northeastern province.
Health staff and volunteers also offer foot massage, manicures and pedicures to reduce diabetic neuropathy and bed sores, which are difficult to heal and can lead to amputation in severe cases.
"Holistic healthcare is simple but helps treat diabetic symptoms, enabling patients like Mrs Buala to live as normal a life as possible," said Sirichai Namtassanee, director of Noan Fong Kaew community medical unit who heads the project launched this year.
Diabetes affects 120 of the 7,199 residents in the area, most of them senior citizens. However, the long distance involved in travelling to provincial hospitals discourages patients from seeing doctors often, even though free treatment is available under the universal healthcare programme. As a result, many suffer from bed sores and wounds.
Their lifestyle also worsens their diabetes. People in the Northeast eat khao niew (sticky rice), which increases carbohydrate and sugar levels in the blood. Villagers usually walk barefoot while working in paddy fields, which puts them at risk of chronic infectious wounds.
Dr Sirichai said it is hard to persuade patients to give up their lifestyle and diet. Special shoes have been designed for diabetics to reduce the risk of infections.
Made of rubber, the shoes resemble slippers and are tailor-made for each patient. Unlike imported boots, which are expensive and unsuitable for a tropical climate, the slippers are lightweight and cost only 250 baht.
The shoes are popular not only among diabetic patients but also Noan Fong Kaew villagers in general.
"Patients can benefit from holistic medical care based on experience and understanding of patients' needs, which doctors cannot learn from medical textbooks alone," he said.
Winai Sawasdiworn, secretary-general of the National Health Security Office overseeing the universal healthcare scheme, said the foot clinic was a good example of the klai ban, klai chai (close to home, close to heart) philosophy initiated by the late Sanguan Nityarumpong, a former NHSO secretary-general.
The aim is to help patients in remote areas get better access to medical treatment and healthcare, and at the same time reducing the workloads at the large provincial and regional hospitals.
Dr Sanguan worked hard to put this concept into practice at community medical units throughout the country.
To fulfil Dr Sanguan's dreams, a one-billion-baht budget has been allocated to 217 community medical units across the country to adopt a comprehensive care project for treating diabetes.
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