AIMS Diabetes Centre

AIMS Diabetes Centre and Diabetic Welfare Association

The AIMS Diabetes Centre is the first centre for the treatment of diabetes in the state of Kerala.

Dr. Harish Kumar, co-director of the Endocrinology Department, came from a research job in the UK to join AIMS. He was stunned to discover an overwhelming number of diabetic cases in Kerala, so numerous that at first it was hard to believe. Also an abnormally high percentage of patients suffer high cholesterol levels.

Dr. Kumar explains: "People in India have a very low awareness about the possibilities offered by endocrinology. We held a medical camp in the city for diabetic sufferers and found that people were stunned to discover what we could do, not simply for diabetes, but for other diseases of the glands. 40,000 people attended that camp. As a result people refer themselves to us in large numbers. We are the second busiest department after cardiology."

Dr. Kumar launched a Diabetes Research programme to discover why the disease is so prevalent in Kerala, where its incidence runs second only to heart disease. Dr. Kumar has also started a surgical department, the first in Kerala for the treatment of ulcerated feet, one of the most common effects of neglected diabetes. A surgeon from Bombay, with long experience in the treatment of ulcerated feet has trained our doctors. He was the only surgeon I knew who could do this work. Normally doctors have to amputate the foot and part of the leg due to gangrene. Now, with the knowledge he has passed on to us, about how to clean out the ulcers, we can do skin grafts. We are satisfied that our treatment programme is going very well and we are saving many patients from amputations."

The Diabetes Centre is home to the Diabetic Exercise outreach programme and the Amrita Diabetic Welfare Association.

The Amrita Diabetic Welfare Association is an organisation to increase diabetes awareness in the community at large. The association holds weekly Diabetes Awareness camps drawing crowds in the hundreds each week. Attendees are given free blood, urine and other medical exams and taught about the dangers of diabetes and how to avoid it, including specific dietary instructions. The camp organisers even cook a healthy meal for the participants, showing them how to prepare food for a healthy lifestyle.

Diabetics and patients with high cholesterol problems enrol for a programme of 24 sessions in the exercise room where they learn how to control certain aspects of the disease through exercise and diet. They actually experience the benefits of exercise; after two months the doctors find that many people really do change their lifestyle. Patients start to swim, jog, play tennis and find the solutions best suited to their individual needs. Poor patients can also benefit; they are referred to Patient Services and can be admitted free. The department also offers yoga classes.