Later the hospital shifted to the office premises of the NISCO (National Iron & Steel Company) union, where it started as a daily outdoor medical centre along with a minor operations unit. However, the clinic soon had to shift out of the CITU-affiliated NISCO union office.
In 1994, the hospital shifted to a dilapidated building of Grand Smithy, a subsidiary of Indo Japan. The workers converted the structure into a four-bedded hospital (two each for male and female patients) with due consent of the owner of the land and the district medical officer.
“Our initial capital was only Rs 40,000. So we purchased one tonne iron scrap and used it to manufacture beds, trolleys, operation tables and even a specialised orthopedic surgery table. The specialised table was manufactured in a record time of eight hours”, said Debasish Bhattacharjee, a former medical representative who is a Samiti volunteer.
“I was really amazed with their innovative gestures”, said B. Dasgupta, PA to of a former labour minister of the Left Front government. “They turned the headlights of automobiles into OT lights by placing those on the steering wheel. During those days, the media was vocal about disruptions in hospitals due to power cuts. But Shramajeevi Hospital never faced such a crisis as their OT lights were attached with AC/DC and a battery system.”
The journey was not as smooth as that may sound. The factory finally closed down in 1996. The laid-off workers ran from pillar to post for permission to keep the hospital going as a cooperative entity but to no avail. “Despite the government’s announced policy, we did not get the required support from the central cooperative,” Bhattacharjee said. Factory owners attacked the hospital with goons, backed by the police. They even dragged the patients out on G.T. Road and damaged the roof of the orthopedic ward. The Samiti earned a reprieve when the high court intervened.
Many of the general assistants in the hospital are ex-workers of the factory or their family members. They all work gratis. “None of the doctors or nurses is paid. They get a paltry amount for conveyance and refreshments. Yet they offer their best possible service for the hospital,” claimed Debashis Bhattacharjee.
And the beneficiaries are understandably happy. Outpatients pay only Rs 11 for registration. The hospital charges Rs 4,525 for gall bladder or laparoscopic operations. In other private hospitals, these surgeries run into five figures.
In 1994, the hospital shifted to a dilapidated building of Grand Smithy, a subsidiary of Indo Japan. The workers converted the structure into a four-bedded hospital (two each for male and female patients) with due consent of the owner of the land and the district medical officer.
“Our initial capital was only Rs 40,000. So we purchased one tonne iron scrap and used it to manufacture beds, trolleys, operation tables and even a specialised orthopedic surgery table. The specialised table was manufactured in a record time of eight hours”, said Debasish Bhattacharjee, a former medical representative who is a Samiti volunteer.
“I was really amazed with their innovative gestures”, said B. Dasgupta, PA to of a former labour minister of the Left Front government. “They turned the headlights of automobiles into OT lights by placing those on the steering wheel. During those days, the media was vocal about disruptions in hospitals due to power cuts. But Shramajeevi Hospital never faced such a crisis as their OT lights were attached with AC/DC and a battery system.”
The journey was not as smooth as that may sound. The factory finally closed down in 1996. The laid-off workers ran from pillar to post for permission to keep the hospital going as a cooperative entity but to no avail. “Despite the government’s announced policy, we did not get the required support from the central cooperative,” Bhattacharjee said. Factory owners attacked the hospital with goons, backed by the police. They even dragged the patients out on G.T. Road and damaged the roof of the orthopedic ward. The Samiti earned a reprieve when the high court intervened.
Many of the general assistants in the hospital are ex-workers of the factory or their family members. They all work gratis. “None of the doctors or nurses is paid. They get a paltry amount for conveyance and refreshments. Yet they offer their best possible service for the hospital,” claimed Debashis Bhattacharjee.
And the beneficiaries are understandably happy. Outpatients pay only Rs 11 for registration. The hospital charges Rs 4,525 for gall bladder or laparoscopic operations. In other private hospitals, these surgeries run into five figures.
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