UPHOLDING THE SPIRIT OF THE HIPPOCRATIC OATH.

SUKKUR -- Serving humanity does not require a superpower or a special ability. The only tool that is needed to do good for humanity is empathy. Kindness is the key to be an instrument of inclusivity without any discrimination of caste, colour, and religion. That was probably the idea behind the establishment of the Hindu Panchayat Charitable Hospital in Sukkur in 1985. The hospital was made with the aim to serve an ailing human being without any discrimination, and that too without charging heavy fees for specialist doctors, medical tests, and medicines.

A group of mostly Hindu doctors along with their Muslim counterparts provide their free services to patients seven days a week. Some of the doctors provide services on daily basis, while some on alternate days, and some once a week. The hospital is equipped with a good laboratory, ultrasound facility, physiotherapy section, TB testing machines, gynaecology department, a medical store, and other facilities. On service at the hospital are physicians, and specialist doctors, including gynae, ENT, eye, neuro, chest, kidney, and skin specialists, and dentists and sonologists.

While I was visiting the hospital, I saw a man holding the hand of a woman who looked unwell and was not able to walk properly. He went directly to the reception, handed a fifty rupee note to the receptionist and received a token. After that, the man escorted the ailing woman to a room for a check-up. On being asked, he introduced himself as Karim Bux and said, 'The woman is my wife and is having some digestive problem, due to which she started vomiting soon after eating. One of my neighbours told me about this hospital where people can get medical treatment for just Rs 50.' Karim Bux added, 'Saheb, we are poor people and cannot afford to visit private hospitals.'

An elderly woman, Kaneez Begum, who was there for an ultrasound shared her experience about her visit to the hospital, 'I frequently visit this hospital for treatment because apart from a thorough check-up, the staff also provide free medicines, and therefore being a poor woman, I prefer this hospital to any other for medical aid.' Replying to a question she said, 'I can't go to the Civil Hospital because it is far away from my home, and secondly, it takes hours to get a check-up. And that is not all. Mostly, patients do not get free medicines from government hospitals, and at this hospital, after paying Rs 50, I get proper a check-up and medicines without any...