In a significant step towards strengthening community-based healthcare for people living with rare diseases, the Dr Shyama Narang Foundation, in collaboration with the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), has launched a specialised training programme for doctors working in Namma Clinics.
The workshops will begin on Monday, coinciding with World Motor Neuron Disease (MND) Awareness Day, and aim to enhance the capacity of primary healthcare professionals to provide timely and compassionate care closer to patients’ homes.
Focus on improving quality of life
The training programme will cover key aspects of rare disease management, including neuro palliative care, home-based treatment, management of secondary infections, nutritional support, respiratory care, early identification of complications and referral systems.
Speaking about the initiative, Vasanth Rao, Founder Managing Trustee of Dr Shyama Narang Foundation, emphasised the importance of strengthening frontline healthcare services.
“While there may not yet be a cure for many rare diseases, there is much that can be done to improve the quality of life of patients. By training Namma Clinic doctors, we are empowering our primary healthcare system to provide timely, compassionate and accessible care,” he said.
200 doctors to be trained
The inaugural workshop will train the first batch of doctors, with three additional batches scheduled over the coming weeks. The month-long programme aims to train 200 doctors in groups of 50.
Sessions will be conducted at Arogya Soudha and led by experts from NIMHANS’ Neuro Palliative Care and Home Care Division.
Building on earlier healthcare collaboration
The initiative builds upon a partnership launched last year between the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Namma Clinics and the Foundation. The collaboration encouraged patients with rare diseases to seek treatment for common health issues and secondary infections at nearby clinics.
Organisers believe the new training programme will further strengthen the ability of neighbourhood healthcare centres to support patients requiring long-term care and monitoring.
The Foundation has also announced plans to expand similar training initiatives to districts across Karnataka, helping improve access to specialised care beyond Bengaluru.