Indian doctors teams get UK awards

Updated on: Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Two teams of doctors from India were awarded top honours at the British Medical Journal Group Awards.

For their flood relief work in Bihar in 2008, ‘Doctors for You' received the award for 'Medical Team in a Crisis Zone' and Professor Subhashchandra Daga and his team at the Maharashtra Institute of Medical Education and Research Medical College received the award for 'Innovation in Health Care' for their work in neo-natal health.

Working for over six months, the 'Doctors for You' team comprising of about 110-strong medical professionals, complemented by social workers and other support staff wrestled to moderate the effects of the disaster caused by the rising floodwaters of the Kosi river in Bihar in 2008. Starting from emergency and resuscitation care, they stayed on to treat 1,30,000 patients in 300 mobile health clinics, district hospitals and relief camps.

On behalf of 'Doctors for You', Vivek Chhabra, International Coordinator, said, "The award will boost membership, community support, and motivation for the team's work and help in raising a Medical Humanitarian Disaster Team for South East Asia."Professor Daga and his team had to work against the reality of frequent power cuts and figure out means to keep newborn babies warm. They custom-made polystyrene foam boxes that were used to transport vaccines to do the job.

They went on to use the boxes to transport sick babies to hospital. The team found that not only were the boxes easy to use for families, and traditional birth attendants, but also that they were safe and effective.

The BMJ Group Awards, held in association with the Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland recognise and celebrate excellence in healthcare across the globe. This year, over 650 entries were received from across the globe for the 13 award categories.

Indian doctors teams get UK awards

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