Madurai:

Affordable and quality medical care is the dream of people, especially the poor who find specialty hospitals out of their reach. The Suham Specialty Hospital here has been transforming this dream into reality for hundreds of poor people for the past four years.

The 23-bed hospital in Jayaraj Nagar, opposite Fatima College, was started with contributions of 100 from members of 18 federations of Kalanjiam Self-Help Groups, set up by DHAN Foundation, a local NGO, in 2008. Representatives of the SHGs now sit on the board of directors and run the hospital. They also run two 15-bed hospitals in Theni and Salem.

An initiative of women who are part of self-help groups in Madurai district, Suham offers treatment to SHG members and the public at affordable prices. The cost of treatment here can be 50% cheaper than that at private clinics. A C-section, for example, costs between 13,000 and 16,000 whereas a private clinic is likely to charge at least 25,000.

“Most of us are very poor and were forced to borrow heavily during medical emergencies. So, we decided to run our own hospital to provide affordable healthcare for members,” says G Deivanai, treasurer of the hospital. A homemaker from Aruldaspuram in Madurai, she is on the board of directors and manages the hospital’s accounts.

“We have all facilities and our operation theatre is fully equipped for surgeries. We have out-patient and in-patient facilities with 21 consulting doctors and three medical officers to handle in-patient care. On average, we handle 70-120 out-patients daily and 70 in-patients a month. We do 40 surgeries every month,” says K Thillai Mani, administrative officer.

“Not just Kalanjiam members but others too benefit from the hospital because care here is relatively cheap,” says S Pavunraj, chief medical officer.

source: http://www.m.timesofindia.com / Home> City> Madurai / by J Arockiaraj, TNN / September 26th, 2012