Courtsey : India Today and Sify.com
Amitabh Srivastava Tuesday, 20 January , 2009, 21:25
Don't wait, innovate. The Bihar Military Police (BMP), a paramilitary force of the state, has done exactly that by transforming a two-decade-old derelict command hospital at Patna into a modern medical unit.
Earlier, the four government doctors at the hospital had little work because few BMP personnel visited them for treatment.
With more than one authority in charge of the hospital, healthcare took a backseat. The BMP, to which the hospital was entrusted, had no funds to run it while the Health Department had shrugged off any responsibility after deploying staff.
The BMP, however, desperately needed this hospital because healthcare was just too costly elsewhere. But they also knew that making the government allot funds for the hospital was not going to be easy. So they decided to improve the hospital themselves. We pooled in Rs 6 lakh from our salaries to renovate it with state-of the-art facilities, says Upendra Prasad Singh of the Bihar Policemen's Association.
The refurbished hospital was symbolically inaugurated on June 16, 2008 by a sweeper, Ganesh Ram. Now the hospital provides subsidised treatment to the family members of police personnel as well. In fact, it was additional director-general of police Abhayanand who floated the idea of renovating the hospital. They have turned it around and have been maintaining it with care, says Abhayanand. Even the general ward, with 17 beds, is air-conditioned now.
Like all success stories, this too appeared impossible till a beginning was made. Help came pouring in, however, once the BMP took the initiative.
Impressed, many organisations chipped in to provide new beds, an ultrasound scanner, electrocardiogram machine and X-ray device besides surgical equipment while a nationalised bank sponsored the operation theatre. Now, acclaimed doctors like orthopaedic surgeon, Dr Amaulya Kumar Singh, pay free weekly visits to the hospital, which now attends to almost 100 patients every day, including 16,000 BMP personnel and families of policemen posted in neighbouring states.
The hospital now boasts of a sparkling mosaic floor and nine air-conditioners. Bihar's policemen have begun to heal themselves.
Amitabh Srivastava Tuesday, 20 January , 2009, 21:25
Don't wait, innovate. The Bihar Military Police (BMP), a paramilitary force of the state, has done exactly that by transforming a two-decade-old derelict command hospital at Patna into a modern medical unit.
Earlier, the four government doctors at the hospital had little work because few BMP personnel visited them for treatment.
With more than one authority in charge of the hospital, healthcare took a backseat. The BMP, to which the hospital was entrusted, had no funds to run it while the Health Department had shrugged off any responsibility after deploying staff.
The BMP, however, desperately needed this hospital because healthcare was just too costly elsewhere. But they also knew that making the government allot funds for the hospital was not going to be easy. So they decided to improve the hospital themselves. We pooled in Rs 6 lakh from our salaries to renovate it with state-of the-art facilities, says Upendra Prasad Singh of the Bihar Policemen's Association.
The refurbished hospital was symbolically inaugurated on June 16, 2008 by a sweeper, Ganesh Ram. Now the hospital provides subsidised treatment to the family members of police personnel as well. In fact, it was additional director-general of police Abhayanand who floated the idea of renovating the hospital. They have turned it around and have been maintaining it with care, says Abhayanand. Even the general ward, with 17 beds, is air-conditioned now.
Like all success stories, this too appeared impossible till a beginning was made. Help came pouring in, however, once the BMP took the initiative.
Impressed, many organisations chipped in to provide new beds, an ultrasound scanner, electrocardiogram machine and X-ray device besides surgical equipment while a nationalised bank sponsored the operation theatre. Now, acclaimed doctors like orthopaedic surgeon, Dr Amaulya Kumar Singh, pay free weekly visits to the hospital, which now attends to almost 100 patients every day, including 16,000 BMP personnel and families of policemen posted in neighbouring states.
The hospital now boasts of a sparkling mosaic floor and nine air-conditioners. Bihar's policemen have begun to heal themselves.
