Toxicology experts to train PHC doctors on protocols to treat farmers exposed to chemicals & pesticides

Toxicology experts will soon train doctors working in Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and district hospitals in Maharashtra and other places in the country about the protocols for diagnosis and treatment of farmers exposed to chemicals and pesticides, a medical expert has said. Toxicology as a subject is quite neglected in the medical curriculum, Dr Tejas Prajapati, a clinical medical toxicologist at the LG Hospital in Ahmedabad, said at a press conference on Wednesday after a symposium on 'Occupational health hazards in agriculture' held at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Nagpur.

Doctors at the PHCs are the first contact in the case of a patient exposed to pesticides and chemicals. They are already loaded with various other medical programmes and works and a case of such a medical emergency is immediately sent to higher centres and the "golden period" is lost, he noted.

"The AIIMS along with the UPL Limited (an agriculture solutions and services company) will provide the actual protocol training to PHC doctors from Vidarbha, Maharashtra and the country about the diagnosis and treatment of farmers exposed to pesticides and chemicals," Dr Prajapati said.

He said ultimately, the goal is to save the lives of individuals and hence they were doing this awareness programme.

Deputy director of health services, block and district health officers and PHC officers from Nagpur attended a training session here on Wednesday, Dr Prajapati said.

UPL's president of global corporate & industry affairs, Sagar Kaushik said this year they will cover three states - Telangana, Maharashtra and Gujarat - for the training.

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