Help rural children get access to pediatric care by J Watumull Global Hospital & Research Centre

The paediatrician at J Watumull Global Hospital & Research Centre, Dr Pankaj Gupta, sees patients in his clinic and gets seriously ill children hospitalised for further care. Between January and June 2022, he saw 2131 children in his clinic and hospitalised 81 children. These children come from Mt Abu, the town in which Global Hospital is located and from villages in the district. A significant number of children come from tribal or otherwise socio-economically backward families. Getting treated for free or for nominal charges means a lot to these children. Dr Gupta runs his clinic with the help of one nursing assistant. When the children are admitted to the wards, the entire nursing care team is at hand to care for them.

Some children present with advanced conditions and need a lot of intensive care. We try to spread word of the hospital's services in the villages to encourage parents to bring their children in soon.

Govind, an 11 months old infant, developed an abscess in the right submandibular region with cellulitis.

Govind’s father Khima is of tribal origin. The family lives in village Upari, block Pindwada, district Sirohi. Khima brought his son to Global Hospital for treatment hoping that the child would be treated for no charge.

Dr Sharad Mehta, the consultant ENT surgeon, admitted Govind to the hospital ward. Dr Mehta performed a procedure to drain thick pus from Govind’s abscess and the posterior chest wall. This helped Govind recover.

Govind ran up a bill of Rs 24,743 but he was not charged for the treatment he received.

Between April 2021 and December 2021, 2723 children consulted our pediatrician, Dr. Pankaj Gupta. 102 children needed further care and were therefore hospitalized. 54 of these hospitalized children were cared for with no charges at all because they were from low-income families. These children were majorly drawn from across the Sirohi district.

Caring for children was a challenge during the second wave of Covid-19 from April to July. Parents were hesitant to bring their children to a hospital lest they contract the infection. However, desperate cases did visit the pediatrician.

Janu Garasia, a male infant of one year, was brought to the hospital for a cold and cough. His father, Kalu Garasia, is a daily wage worker. The family is of tribal origin. They hail from the village Tuka, Deldar. They consulted Dr. Pankaj Gupta for Janu. Janu's story is repeated many times over the month, and many tribal families now bring their children to the doctor for treatment when they fall sick.

Paediatrician Dr Pankaj Gupta runs the paediatrics clinic at J Watmull Global Hospital & Research Centre, Mt Abu, assisted by a nursing attendant. Consultation is a free facility at J Watmull Global Hospital & Research Centre, Mt Abu, where scores of patients come from less privileged socio-economic backgrounds. The hospital runs a special programme for children aged up to 16, hailing from poor families, whereby they can be hospitalised and treated for free. This donation option from GiveIndia helps cover the cost of offering free outpatient consultations. 1028 children saw Dr Gupta, the hospital’s paediatrician between January and June 2021. Dr Gupta hospitalised 30 patients needing treatment, and of these, 14 were treated for free.

During Covid, parents were fearful of bringing their children to Global Hospital because it was a designated Covid-treatment hospital. However, every pediatric emergency was attended to.

Stories from the ground: Rahul Kumar, a 9-year-old child, lives in Sirodi Vagari Vas, Sirodi. His father Teja Ram works as a loader/unloader in a cement shop. Rahul has five siblings, one brother, and four sisters. His mother is a homemaker. They live in a joint family. All the uncles are similarly employed in very low-paying jobs.Rahul was admitted (IRN 69045) for cellulitis and ulceration of the right lower limb. Rahul's bill (#1214) was waived off in view of the family's socioeconomic standing. He is a beneficiary of the pediatric clinic.

Paediatrician Dr Pankaj Gupta runs the paediatics clinic at J Watmull Global Hospital & Research Centre, Mt Abu, assisted by a nursing attendant. Consultation is a free facility at J Watmull Global Hospital & Research Centre, Mt Abu, where scores of patients come from less privileged socio-economic backgrounds. The hospital runs a special programme for children aged upto 16, hailing from poor families, whereby they can be hospitalised and treated for free. This donation option from GiveIndia helps cover the cost of offering the free outpatient consultations. 1203 children saw Dr Gupta, the hospital’s paediatrician between April and November 2020. During this time, Dr Gupta hospitalised 63 patients needing treatment, and of these, 39 were treated for free. One of these was Laxmi, a 12-year preteen, diagnosed with type 1 diabetes two years ago. She was  admitted for high glucose. During her stay she was once again explained the importance of diet control. She grew determined to look after herself (watch her video).

Among the most sacred gifts you can give your child is the gift of health

Paediatrician Dr Pankaj Gupta runs the paediatics clinic at J Watmull Global Hospital & Research Centre, Mt Abu, assisted by a nursing attendant. Consultation is a free facility at J Watmull Global Hospital & Research Centre, Mt Abu, where scores of patients hail from less privileged socio-economic backgrounds. The hospital runs a special programme for children aged upto 16, hailing from poor families, whereby they can be hospitalised and treated for free. This donation option from GiveIndia helps cover the cost of offering the free outpatient consultations. 2755 children saw Dr Gupta between October 2019 and March 2020. Dr Gupta hospitalised 81 patients needing treatment, and of these, 39 were treated for free and another 7 were offered a concession on their final bill.

Program Update

2871 children saw the hospital’s paediatrician in the department of paediatrics between October 2018 and March 2019. Paediatrician Dr Pankaj Gupta runs the clinic, assisted by a nursing attendant. Consultation is a free facility at J Watmull Global Hospital & Research Centre, Mt Abu, where scores of patients hail from less privileged socio-economic backgrounds. The hospital runs a special programme for children aged upto 16, hailing from poor families, whereby they can be hospitalised and treated for free. This donation option from GiveIndia helps cover the cost of offering the free outpatient consultations. Dr Gupta admitted 96 children for treatment in the last six months, 52 of these were treated for free.

Story from the field

Sunita Garasia, age 9, got chicken pox. During the course of the disease, she developed abscesses and swelling in her left hand, elbow and forearm which were discharging pus. Her father Ransa Ram Garasia, a man of tribal origin, took her to a hospital in Abu Road, the town nearest to their village Dhekaliya Phali, Nichlagarh. She was given some treatment but she experienced no relief. In this interim Dr Manisha Maindad, a doctor with the village outreach programme, based out of Abu Road, visited Nichalagarh, an adopted village of the project, and saw the girls condition. She advised her parents to take Sunita to Global Hospital for further management. Sunita is fortunate her parents followed the advice. Paediatrician Dr Pankaj Gupta examined her and called in his colleagues in surgery to dress her abscess. He also advised the parents to get her wound tended to daily, and offered to admit her for treatment until she was better. Sunita comes from a family of six members. Her father is a farmer and supplements the meagre family income by working as a wage hand. Her mother is a housewife. She has three brothers, all the siblings are school going. The family income is roughly Rs 5,000 per month. Sunita was treated for free at Global Hospital.

Program Update

Global Hospital has a clinic dedicated to paediatrics. Paediatrician Dr Pankaj Gupta with a nursing attendant run this busy department. Dr Gupta offers needy children free consultations and hospital care. Some needy children are direct walk ins, others are referred by the mobile clinics teams (Village Outreach Programme/Community Service Project). Special support is provided to children suffering from chronic illnesses like type 1 diabetes and thalassemia where the parents cannot afford lifelong treatment. Apart from this, the hospital contributes to the local health care of the community by running a nutritional support programme in some schools. Children studying in these schools undergo annual health checks.

Story from the field

Ishwar Garasia comes from a family of six members. His father's earnings come up to Rs 8,000 per month. His mother is house wife. He has one sister. His grandparents also live with them. He was brought to the hospital for fever, cough and rhinorrhea, he had been suffering since last five days. Paediatrician Dr Pankaj Gupta saw him and admitted him in the ICU for further investigation and treatment. Ishwar made a full recovery.

With this program works J Watumull Global Hospital & Research Centre (GHRC) offers free or subsidized pediatric treatment to poor children through outreach programs in villages.

Consultation with specialists and treatment is a free at J Watumull Global Hospital & Research Centre, Mt Abu, where scores of patients hailing from less privileged socio-economic backgrounds come for treatment.

Pediatrician Dr Pankaj Gupta runs the clinic, assisted by a nursing attendant

During the year April 2017 to March 2018, 6312 children visited the department of pediatrics.
199 patients were admitted as in-patients of which 60% of whom were treated for free as they hailed from poor families and another 8% were given large concessions on their treatment expense.

Eight-year-old Naina Kunwar was one such child who was helped because of donors like you.

Naina lives in Aarna, a village adopted by Global Hospital's Village Outreach Programme. She was brought into the casualty suffering from generalised tonic clonic seizures. Sensing the gravity of the situation, pediatrician Dr Pankaj Gupta admitted her to the Intensive Care Unit.

Naina's mother, a widow, works as a daily wage labor earning about Rs 5,000 a month. She has three children, Naina and her two school-going brothers.

It was impossible for her to afford medical care for Naina with her financial situation.

Investigations showed that Naina was suffering from meningitis, a brain fever that can take time to cure because the medicine has to penetrate deep into the brain. In Naina's case, it necessitated a hospital stay of over a month.

During this time, she also developed Steven Johnson's Syndrome, a skin disorder, a side effect of the seizure medicine, which head of the VOP and dermatologist Dr Kanak Srivastava treated.

Seeing Naina's financial situation, she was treated for free. She is now recovering gradually to be a healthy child.

Naina and many others like her have had access to medical care because of your support for this program.

Expected total number of beneficiaries in this program for FY18-19 - 7000
Total Budget for the project for FY18-19 - INR 16,46,844