Our Care Center
Nireekshana operates an outpatient health care center in Hyderabad. Individuals and families affected by HIV/AIDS are offered counseling and medical treatment of Opportunistic Infections (OI’s), Cotrimoxazole prophylaxis and related care. We operate as a free clinic. Our patients are referred mostly by local & village leaders, health & community based organizations, some travel more than 100 kms for treatment.
Counseling
Patients are counseled personally and also with their families as per the need. The areas of counseling are physical, emotional and psychological needs of the patient. Our clinic provides a safe and supportive environment where individuals and families infected and affected with HIV discuss their struggles, fears and issues. Our counselors understand patient confidentiality is the key.
Counseling on personal, emotional and social matters is a significant component of our approach. Advice and support to help families to care for the sick and dying, help in planning the future of affected spouses and children are part of the counseling.
Clinical Services
The clinic’s medical services are almost exclusive for prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections (OI’s) such as Tuberculosis (TB), Respiratory, Gastrointestinal, skin and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
- Patients who need HIV testing are referred to our Government Recognized Voluntary Counseling and Testing Centre (VCTC).
- Patients with chest Symptomatic condition are referred to the Government hospital for other investigations and to receive anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment and Anti Tuberculosis treatment (ATT).
These patients are followed up on a regular monthly basis and counseled on treatment adherence; also physically weak patients are provided vitamins and nutritional supplements.
Continuum of care
Our clinical services are focused on providing a continuum of care for affected families. Therefore, in addition to its ongoing counseling of widows/widowers and orphans of AIDS, it also financially supports the education of selected children who have lost one or both parents to AIDS (presently over 250 children). Needy families are provided with Nutritional support of rice, dal and oil (presently to about 100 families).
Children and families are selected for support on a need basis, with preference given to widows, HIV positive children and the girl child. Annually an estimated 2500 family members receive various types of care and support services from Nireekshana. This includes approximately 300 widows and 1000 children (250 of whom are HIV positive).
We have 5000 HIV positive patients registered at Nireekshana health care clinic in the city of Hyderabad. 20 % of the group are on regular follow-up on a monthly basis. This includes about 250 HIV positive children. Sixty patients have HIV-TB co-infection and are on TB medication from different DOTS centers. Most of them are Pulmonary TB and the remaining are Extra Pulmonary TB.
An additional 150 patients and their families are being taken care of at the other satellite centre at Vishakhapatnam, 600 km away from Hyderabad. The centre is staffed by a Doctor and 10 Volunteers.
In addition we have specialized institute for leprosy diagnosis for ultrasonography of nerves for prevention of damage of nerves.