Amader Haspatal

Foundation for Health Action (FHA) is a non-profit organization (Trust) without any connection with any political party. The organizers come from different strata of the society, with various expertises with one common goal of social service.

The core philosophy of Amader Haspatal, as Dr Sarkar explains, is not to let any patient, however poor or sick, feel humiliated in any way. One of the main reasons why many poor people shun public health facilities – if they exist at all in their areas – is the harshness and indifference with which they are treated by hospital staff.

Paying attention to details like this is typical of Dr Sarkar, a former director of the prestigious Calcutta-based School of Tropical Medicine and also the former Drug Controller of West Bengal, who has spent his entire illustrious career worrying about putting the concept of ‘care’ back into healthcare.

“There is no way, in a large country like India, we can wait till we have qualified doctors everywhere. We need to engage positively with existing rural doctors and not make them outlaws,” says Dr Sarkar. As of now, one of the problems the hospital faces is lack of doctors to come and provide services, largely due to its location, around 270 kilometers from Calcutta . However, for Dr Sarkar and his wife, Haspatal’s remoteness is not as much an obstacle as the very reason to be here where no other medical professional dares to go.

For more information, do visit: http://amaderhaspatal.in/