Haryana man opens dispensary after losing son to prolonged illness

Ramswarup lost his son who battled a prolonged illness and now he has been treating patients freely who come to him from different parts of Haryana every day. On average, he treats around 200 patients selflessly.

Panipat:There is a saying that mishap or adversity never knocks the door with a prior invitation. It just happens. Some mishaps jolt humans so much that they don’t even muster the courage to revive their lives. Some incidents prove so enabling in terms of positive impact or eye-opener that people set examples for the posterity for ages to come.

Ramswarup Chawla, a resident of Noorwala Colony, Panipat, has set a similar example. He lost his son on October 29, 2010, for want of treatment. Shocked from within, Ramswarup did not give up but opened a dispensary where he gives medicines free to the people so that no one loses his life for want of treatment. This free dispensary has now become a mini hospital where 200 to 250 people come for treatment every day.

In a conversation with ETV Bharat Haryana, a patient namely Suresh said that in this mini-hospital one has to get a slip of just Rs 20. After which they get free treatment here. This is much better than those hospitals which charge huge fees in the name of treatment. Patients are well served here, said Suresh.

In the year of 1994, Ramswarup’s nine-year-old son Rajan Chawla started getting physically weak. After visiting several hospitals, it was found out that he had a disease called Wilson because of which the waste did not come out of Rajan’s body.

The treatment often includes medication that can prompt the organs to release copper into the bloodstream. Once it's in the bloodstream, it can then be eliminated from the body through the kidneys. For treatment, Ramswarup Chawla took his son to several hospitals including Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital for treatment. Instead of healing, medicine started reacting, causing much damage to Rajan.

The doctors also brought medicines from America to cure Rajan, but Rajan did not get any rest. Rajan’s liver deteriorated due to prolonged treatment and he was scheduled to undergo a liver transplant on November 5, 2010, but on October 29, 2010, Ramswarup’s son Rajan lost the battle with life.

Ramswarup Chawla said that his son had a disease called Wilson, which he got treated for 16 years.

"Due to treatment, his liver was damaged. He was scheduled to undergo a liver transplant at Sir Gangaram Hospital in New Delhi, but he died before that. During my son’s treatment, I realized that the poor have no access to hospitals. That is why I requested Shri Ram Seva Dal to help me in opening the dispensary. With their help, I started this dispensary,” he said.

Ramswarup Chawla retired as the Secretary of Municipality. Initially, he opened a dispensary in two rooms inside Noorwala Dharamshala in Panipat and started giving free medicines to the poor there. Now, this dispensary has taken the form of a mini-hospital. The doctors giving duty there are serving selflessly after retiring from the general hospital of Panipat.

Surgeon Dr Prem Anand working at Ramswarup’s dispensary, said: “I have come here to serve the people after retiring from a government hospital. The services, which are being provided to the patients here, are free. I do not think such services will be offered anywhere else. Even in government hospitals, such medicines are not available to the patient. I have come here only for the service. Salary means nothing to me,” he added.

The team of two doctors is always here. Tests are also done in the lab here without earning any profit. Many tests including sugar and BJP are done here at a fee of only Rs 10.

Shri Ram Seva Dal works here for the maintenance of the dispensary. As many as 95 members associated with the organization contribute Rs 500 every month. It has been almost 10 years since the dispensary opened where the patients are given free medicines and checks ups are done.