SOURCE  FROM  --  http://www.bangaloremirror.com/article/10/20120425201204252058582657275428f/82yearold-paediatrician-still-remains-a-%E2%80%98class%E2%80%99-teacher.html 

82-year-old paediatrician still remains a 'class' teacher

S Kushala

 

Posted On Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 08:57:01 PM

A lecture class for PG students at Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health is on. A professor is explaining the findings of a study on paediatric Reye's syndrome. Instead of a teaching stick, he is using his walking stick to point at the board to explain symptoms of the disease. The hand is slightly shaky and the voice less audible, yet Dr D G Benakappa has it in him to hold the class' attention.   At 82, Dr Benakappa who has treated nearly three generations of patients for more than 55 years, is one of the oldest paediatricians in south Bangalore. Though he has almost given up his practice, Dr Benakappa has the zeal to teach in the institute, of which he is the founder director.   Now the honorary professor of the institute, with a hip bone fracture and cardiac ailment, Dr Benakappa, who walks with the support of a walking stick, visits the hospital every day to teach and participate in seminars and discussions.   "I see only two to three patients now. They are all my old patients. But I come to the institute regularly. This is the institute I built brick by brick with the initial Rs 3 crore which came in as donations. Today I am proud of the institute which is providing quality and affordable treatment to children. I have treated nearly three generations of patients, and the kids, whom I have given injections, are now teaching in the same institute," says Dr Benakappa. Though his voice is weak, his eyesight is sharp. He can read small letters on the board even without the glasses.   For a long time, Dr Benakappa had a clinic on Bull Temple Road in Basavangudi from where he shifted to Jayanagar 4th Block. He belongs to that generation of doctors who shared a personal rapport with the patients. "I have treated a child, his child and his child. My first patient has come to me with his grandchild. When the children (his patients who have grown up) come from abroad, they make it a point to come and meet me," he says fondly.   Brain fever in the 70s and the 1981 Venus Circus fire tragedy were some of testing times that he recalls. Brain fever, which broke out in Kolar, Ananthpur and Bellary belt, had affected children as they were highly susceptible. "We went to the field, camped in villages and treated kids. It was a big challenge," he says.   Venus Circus tragedy saw 65 people, a majority of them children, getting electrocuted due to a short circuit. "We treated children with severe burns and the sight was horrifying. I cannot forget those days," adds Dr Benakappa.

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V.RAGHAVENDRA RAO,

20, DESCANSO, APRT 1321,

SAN  JOSE,

CALIFORNIA - 95134. USA.

518-261-7075

CARING FOR THE SENIOR CITIZENS

Source  from --  http://www.deccanherald.com/content/244843/caring-aged.html

Caring for aged

April 25, 2012

India will soon have to face one of the more serious consequences of population growth which has received scant attention till recently. The number of the aged is increasing rapidly as a result of higher longevity of life. This may be a result of better health care than was available in the past but it also brings in its trail the need to create a better environment and more facilities to take care of the needs of older people. According to the latest census figures the number of people over 60 years of age will touch the 100 million mark by next year and will double by the year 2030.  India will soon have the second largest population in the 60-plus age group. The country will have to plan how it can cope with the challenge of providing medical and other requirements of the burgeoning number of senior citizens most of whom will be past their productive age.

Since the number of nuclear families are on the rise parents will find it difficult to get support from their earning children. Unfortunately there are increasing number of cases of  indifference, callousness and cruelty to elderly parents. Many children are not in a position to provide succour and help to parents even if they want to because compulsions of job and increased mobility make them unable to do so. Social welfare schemes for the aged are very inadequate and most old age homes do not give the best service to their inmates. Though geriatrics is an important medical discipline in many other countries it has not received attention in India's medical colleges. The national programme for the health care of  the elderly had two years ago suggested the starting of geriatric courses in regional medical institutes and two MD seats in geriatrics  in all medical colleges. But the programme has not taken off.  Hospitals do not have geriatric wards and trained personnel, both doctors and nurses, who can take care the special needs of the elderly. 

The country will have to start paying more attention to this in the months and years to come. The ministry of human resource development has recently taken an initiative to train professionals in geriatric care. The government should create more infrastructural facilities for the care of the aged. Social organisations will also have a major role.

--
V.RAGHAVENDRA RAO,

20, DESCANSO, APRT 1321,

SAN  JOSE,

CALIFORNIA - 95134. USA.

518-261-7075

Govt under pressure over health insurance for senior citizens

Govt under pressure over health insurance for senior citizens

SOURCE  FROM  --  http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/BusinessBankingInsurance/Govt-under-pressure-over-health-insurance-for-senior-citizens/Article1-846147.aspx

Pressure is building up on the government and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) to chalk out a health insurance strategy for senior citizens.  The elderly are the worst impacted with the upward revision of health insurance  products in 2010 companies stopped cashless hospitalisation and treatment claiming that hospitals were inflating bills.

A joint action committee for senior citizens said that while insurance regulator IRDA has asked insurance companies not to discontinue a policy based on age, it has not given any directive on pricing.

Members of the committee are slated to meet IRDA chairman J Hari Narayan next month to discus the issue.

The regulator had indicated that that re-pricing would be applicable for all policy-holders, including the elderly.

"Pricing must be different for health insurance products for senior citizens as they are finding it difficult to continue with the policies with the rise in premium," SK Mahapatra, member, joint action committee, told Hindustan Times. He said health insurance products are no more in the 'affordable range" for senior citizens with limited income.

According to official estimates, by 2025, over 189 million Indians will be 60-plus.

The KS Sastry Committee of IRDA, which looked into the issue, stressed the need for a 'national policy on older persons'. The committee said insurers should promote separate products for senior citizens.

"We believe health insurance should be available to all, we offer all our customers pricing based on their age and city of residence and there is no loading based on claim history at any age," Damien Marmion, CEO Max Bupa Health Insurance said.

--
V.RAGHAVENDRA RAO,

20, DESCANSO, APRT 1321,

SAN  JOSE,

CALIFORNIA - 95134. USA.

518-261-7075

87-YEAR -OLD SENIOR CITIZEN FILED A COMPLAINT UNDER MAINTENANCE AND WELFARE OF PARENTS AND SENIOR CITIZENS ACT

SHO fails to register case; PCA unhappy

SOURCE  FROM  --   http://www.indianexpress.com/news/maintenance-and-welfare-of-parents-and-senior-citizens-act-sho-fails-to-register-case/940600/ 

87-year-old complainant had filed application under Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act

The Police Complaints Authority (PCA) has requested the UT Inspector General to admonish the Sector 26 police station SHO for his failure to take action on several complaints of a senior citizen and direct him to register a case of assault, house trespass and criminal intimidation. Madan Mohan Goswami (87), a former Joint Director of the Department of Public Relations, Haryana, had filed a complaint against the partisan attitude and deliberate inaction of the cops on several complaints he filed against his son Kamal Goswami. He had stated that after his mother's death, their Sector 27 house was divided among him and his two brothers. His elder son Mukund Madhav shifted to the first floor while his younger son Kamal Goswami was given the second floor. Madan and his 84-year-old wife stayed on the ground floor. Kamal was later allowed to live with them on the ground floor temporarily as he did not shift to the second floor. Kamal was also given a secondary option of shifting to a flat in Manimjara. Instead, he rented it out and continued to occupy his father's bedroom forcing Madan and his wife to stay in the drawing room. Meanwhile,Madan's wife died and he had no place to live. He spent time at his elder son's or daughter house.

"It is evident that the complainant cannot be and should not be disposed and ousted from the portion of the house which has been in his possession. He, being entitled to one third share, has unfortunately become a homeless person. Kamal has forcibly occupied the bed room of the complainant. He gives his father threats when asked to vacate the room. He is preventing his father from using kitchen and bathroom also. The complaint being of 87 years age rightly deserved a place to live. The cops have not given him help though he has been forcibly dispossessed and ousted from his established and rightful accommodation," read the order.

--
V.RAGHAVENDRA RAO,

20, DESCANSO, APRT 1321,

SAN  JOSE,

CALIFORNIA - 95134. USA.

518-261-7075

WOMAN SENIOR CITIZEN HOLD ON TO LIFE AT RUPEES FIVE HUNDRED THIRTY FIVE PER MONTH

Aged women hold on to life at Rs 535 per month 

SOURCE  FROM  --  http://ibnlive.in.com/news/aged-women-hold-on-to-life-at-rs-535-per-month/251188-60-121.html

HYDERABAD: Aged women lodged at the two old age homes run by the department of women development and child welfare (DWDCW), in Hyderabad and Chittoor, are a suffering lot as they are not given sufficient food, water or medicine.

As many as 50 destitute women aged above 60 were housed in the two 'only for women' homes. Some of the inmates have been staying there for more than nine years. The wardens get `535 per inmate per month as diet charge. However, they have to meet other expenditure too from within this amount.

K� Padmamma (68), an inmate at the old age home in Hyderabad, said, "Here, we don't have proper food, clothes or medicine. Moreover, there is no regular water supply."

Another inmate, S Radha (65), who is an orphan and staying for the last three years, said they make do with insufficient facilities as they do not have any other place to go. "We have to take whatever is given, we cannot demand," she said.

The amount of `535 per person is not enough to provide, as per rules, breakfast, lunch and dinner (non-veg on weekends and special days), buy toiletries and clothes and meet the cost of unexpected hospitalisation, said a senior official of DWDCW.

The department has been asking the government to increase the amount to Rs 1,200, but there is no positive response.

Only the Hyderabad home is given Rs 2,000 per inmate per three months for buying medicine, which is not enough as every one of them has some health problem or the other, the official said.

�"Chittoor old age home is not given medical charges. Moreover, it has electricity dues to the tune of Rs 40,000 as bills were not paid for the last three years," she added.

When an inmate dies, the government gives only Rs 1,250 for funeral expenses. Officials are seeking at least Rs 3,000 as ambulance charge is Rs 1,000, firewood costs Rs 1,400 and cremation charges are Rs 700 at the Bansilalpet cremation ground, Secunderabad.

--
V.RAGHAVENDRA RAO,

20, DESCANSO, APRT 1321,

SAN  JOSE,

CALIFORNIA - 95134. USA.

518-261-7075

PENSION DISBURSAL TO BE MADE HI-TECH IN INDIA SOON

Pension disbursal to be made  HI-TECH

SOURCE  FROM  --      http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Vijayawada/article3339097.ece 

The two-day Defence Pension Adalat held at the Siddhartha Auditorium came to a close here on Friday. Additional Controller General of Defence Accounts M.D. Paliath inaugurating the two-day 110 defence pension adalat said advances in technology would be used for centralising the disbursal of pensions to ex-servicemen.

Mr. Paliath said such an adalat was being held in Vijayawada for the first time and pensioners from all over the State have come here for their grievances redressed. About 200 grievances received from pensioners by post would be redressed first and grievances submitted in person would be registered to be taken up in due course.

Gargantuan task

He said disbursement of pensions to lakhs of ex servicemen living in every nook and corner of the country and even aboard (only Nepal) was a gargantuan task. This was being supervised by 61 Defence Pension Disbursing Offices (DPDOs) through 46,000 branches of 26 nationalised and four private banks. The disbursement of pensions for the ex-servicemen, often for several decades, was fraught with difficulties because the pensions were often revised through several Government Orders which were "coy and shy". Keeping the official machinery and the network of bankers up to date with these GOs was very difficult, he said. Ironically, ex-servicemen, who were in their 30s were also called pensioners. They were paid pension often for several decades and then their kin were also paid pension. Mr. Paliath said the Controller of Defence Accounts (CDA) had prepared a computer module available on its website with which the ex-servicemen could calculate the amount that should be paid to them. A central disbursement system with electronic transfer of pension was being designed, Mr Paliath said. Brig (retd) C.S. Vidyasagar, director, Sainik Welfare (Hyderabad), Controller of Defence Accounts Chennai M. Anjeneyulu and CDA (Pensions) Ajay Mishra spoke. The officials said there was a need for opening two new DPDOs, one at Vijayawada and another in Tirupati to cater to the ex-servicemen in the State.

V.RAGHAVENDRA RAO 
20,DESCANSO DRIVE,
UNIT #1321, SAN JOSE,
CA 95134-1843.
518-261-7075
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Turmeric lowers heart attack risk post surgery

MONDAY, 16 APRIL 2012 18:15

IANS | LONDON

SOURCE  FROM  --    http://www.dailypioneer.com/home/online-channel/health-a-fitness/58064-turmeric-lowers-heart-attack-risk-post-surgery.html 

Turmeric may help lower heart attack risk in people post bypass surgery, thanks to curcumin, the yellow pigment present in the spice which has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Bypass surgery improves blood supply to the heart muscle. However, during the surgery that is usually performed with the heart stopped, the organ can be damaged by prolonged lack of blood flow, increasing the patient's risk of heart attack.

The new findings suggest that curcumins may reduce such risks when added to traditional drug treatments.

The results need to be confirmed through further research, said Wanwarang Wongcharoen from Chiang Mai University in Thailand, who led the study, the American Journal of Cardiology reported.

Researchers at the Thai university studied 121 patients who had non-emergency bypass surgery between 2009 and 2011. Half the patients were given one-gram curcumin capsules to take four times a day, starting three days before their surgery and continuing for five days afterwards. The other half took the same number of drug-free placebo capsules.

The researchers found that during their post-bypass hospital stays, 13 percent of the patients who'd been taking curcumins had a heart attack, compared to 30 percent in the placebo group.

After accounting for any initial pre-surgery differences, Wongcharoen and his colleagues calculated that people on curcumins had a 65 percent lower chance of heart attack.

"It's very, very encouraging," said Bharat Aggarwal of the study. Aggarwal works with the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, which studies the use of curcumins in cancer therapy, according to the Daily Mail.

According to researchers, it is likely that the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of curcumin may have helped limit heart damage in the patients.

--
V.RAGHAVENDRA RAO,

20, DESCANSO, APRT 1321,

SAN  JOSE,

CALIFORNIA - 95134. USA.

518-261-7075