Tending to the sick

At a time when community run hospitals are struggling to survive or have even closed their doors, the D. N. Mehta Sarvajanik Hospital (DNMSH) on J. N. Tata Marg in Navsari is thriving. A visit to the Hospital on January 12, 2013 saw a host of people waiting to be treated in the outpatient department on the ground floor. The rooms on the floors above in the adjoining buildings were occupied by patients with various ailments.
The 98-year-old institution founded in early 1915 started out as a maternity hospital known as the D. N. Mehta Parsee Lying In Hospital with a capacity of 32 beds and facilities for child bearing women to stay for 40 days. Today the Hospital has 125 beds that can treat as many patients at a time and has facilities of pathology and biochemical laboratory, radiology, sonography, Color Doppler Echo, general surgery, orthopedic and trauma unit, physiotherapy and fitness, pediatric, obstetric gynecology center, burns unit, dental unit, urology and dialysis, intensive care, 10 outpatients’ rooms for visiting consultants and a morgue that can hold up to four bodies.

Hospital complex.

Under the stewardship of general surgeon Dr Zubin K. Saklat and general physician Dr Harshad N. Desai who have both been attached to the Hospital for over three decades, the DNMSH "has become a well-equipped, multidisciplinary medical center. The management of the Hospital has remained actively alert and tried their best to provide medical facility to patients of Navsari and Valsad district at affordable rates,” notes a write-up by Dinyar S. Mehta, the honorary secretary and a trustee of the Hospital.
"We have a special ward for Parsis in our Hospital, where we provide subsidies to many poor and needy Parsis requiring medical treatment. We also provide free treatment including operations to patients from Bai Dosibai Kotwal Parsi Boys Orphanage in Navsari… (and for) 41 days in all Parsi delivery cases. We provide subsidized treatment to Parsi general ward patients, giving them relief of up to Rs 4,000 in indoor medicine. We also give 50 percent concession to Parsi patients in x-ray bills in OPD (outpatient department) and indoor Parsi wards. Many of our patients are poor Parsis from the city of Navsari as also from other cities and villages of South Gujarat. As the medical expenses nowadays are very expensive, many poor Parsis take advantage of subsidized treatment given by our institution,” adds the secretary.

The Hospital was founded by Merwanjee Nanabhai Mehta in memory of his brother Dorabji. "Merwanji and my grandfather were all in business,” says chairman of the board of trustees Farrokh Mehta, whose family started the Hospital which they still run. A part of the profits the family earned from their commercial enterprises in Calcutta, Canton, Hong Kong and Shanghai was set aside for the Hospital.
In 1968 "as the number of Parsi patients declined due to low birth rate and Parsi migration, the name of the Hospital was changed to DNMSH, "Sarvajanik standing for general,” states Farrokh. The change in the scheme whereby the Hospital opened its doors to all communities was sanctioned by the district court.
During the year April 2011 to March 2012 the "total relief given to poor patients was Rs 32,42,473.52 of which Rs 6,05,393.42” was spent on Parsis.

Dinshaw Tamboly, Dinyar Mehta and Rohinton Contractor

Dinshaw Tamboly of the World Zoroastrian Organisation Trust Funds and a trustee of the Hospital assists in raising finance. At one point in time the local Gujarati philanthropists were the major financiers of the Hospital but gradually the Parsi donors once again came into the picture, narrates Tamboly. Farrokh credits much of the success of the Hospital to Tamboly’s assistance. The other trustees are Dara Deboo, Malcolm Mehta and Freny Goiporia.
Whilst the Hospital hopes to offer better facilities once they find sponsors for new dialysis machines, a pediatric ventilator, electro cardiogram machines, cardiac ambulance and renovation of their premises, Farrokh is keen to raise funds for a MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) machine at the DNMSH as between Valsad and Surat there is no MRI facility available, he observes.
Contributions by cash, demand drafts or cheques in favor of "D. N. Mehta Sarvajanik Hospital” may be sent to DNMSH at J. N. Tata Marg, Lunsikui, Navsari 396445. Phones (02637) 258021, 259114 and 255083. All donations are exempted from income tax under 80G.