DAULAT RAHMAN
Guwahati, April 22 : Dispur is planning to take HIV/AIDS treatment to the doorstep by opening small dedicated treatment centres to ensure that social stigma or travel costs to large hospitals do not deter patients from reaching out to life-saving therapy.
As part of the efforts, the Assam State AIDS Control Society has decided to set up more centres where patients can return for their anti-retroviral-therapy — the basic treatment available for HIV and AIDS.
These centres — called the Link ART (anti-retroviral-therapy) Centre — are already operational in eight Assam districts.
But the AIDS control society now plans to add to the services available at the Link ART Centre and upgrade them to Link ART Centre Plus.
While the Link ART Centres only provide the anti-retroviral-therapy sessions, the Link ART Centre Plus will have dedicated teams of doctors and nurses to counsel patients and will even have facilities to send blood samples for examination to hospitals.
According to the plan, while two Link ART Centre Plus will be set up in Bongaigaon and Nagaon districts where all facilities will be made available to detect and treat HIV patients, two Link ART Centre will be set up in Lakhimpur and Dhubri.
The National AIDS Control Organisation has approved of the plan and will provide funds to build the centres during the current fiscal.
Patients now have to travel to Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, Assam Medical College and Hospital or Silchar Medical College and Hospital for detection and treatment of HIV — which many avoid for various factors — including distance, transportation cost and fear of social stigma.
“After receiving free anti-retroviral-therapy at GMCH, AMCH and Silchar Medical College and Hospital for six months, the HIV-infected patients are sent to Link ART Centres, currently operational in eight districts, for observation and care. After six months, they should again come to the hospitals for therapy. But on many occasions, patients do not come. Some, after receiving the first dose of the therapy, think that they have recovered and do not need further treatment,” the joint director (care, support and treatment) of Assam State AIDS Control Society, Dr Hem Chandra Barman, told The Telegraph.
He said the Link Art Centre does not have dedicated manpower to motivate patients to continue with the therapy.
National AIDS Control Organisation formerly did not recruit permanent staff for these centres.
Barman said Link Art Centre Plus will be set up across the state in a phased manner.
He said since cases of HIV infection are higher in Bongaigaon and Nagaon, the first two centres will be set up in these districts.
“Our aim is to take HIV treatment to patients’ doorstep,” he said.
He said more emphasis would be laid on blood safety, with instructions to the 68 blood banks across the state.
