Reporter’s Diary: Govt doc who is ready to pay patients’ expenses

During a recent visit to a government healthcare facility, an employee was seen approaching the doctor saying that a particular medicine was unavailable.

The employee explained that while the medication was available in medical stores, there was a shortage of funds for immediate purchase. The doctor, who patiently heard the complaint, immediately gave the cash for the medicine from his pocket and asked the staffer to buy it as soon as possible.

Speaking to this reporter, he later explained that if the amount matters so much to him, he would later claim the charges from the hospital. Though it is very common for government hospitals to bear numerous overhead expenses in case of unavailability of any medication or facility, it is rare for the doctors to take any additional responsibility for the sake of any patient.

While this surely brings appreciation to the doctor for helping the patient, it also brings to light the fact that government hospitals are not adequately supplied for with many essential medications and also lack a system for immediate procurement of any medicine.