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Temple of
medicinePadma Shri Dr. B. Ramana Rao
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Temple of medicinePadma Shri Dr. B. Ramana RaoDr Ramana Rao has been operating his Village Clinic every Sunday morning since August 15 1973. He has given free treatment to nearly two million poor patients in rural areas in and around Bengaluru over the past 40+ years. Starting the day with pooja at the Ganapathy temple in his village clinic , he and his helpers dispense medicines to about 1,200 people and conduct various tests, then serve them rice and sambaar. His patients come from villages in a radius of 150 km, many joining the queues at night and waiting patiently for the gates to open at 9 a.m.
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Patients come – walking, by bus or sharing an auto-rickshaw - from over 350 villages around his clinic. Those who come early sit on the long benches in the covered area. Late-comers have to stand. But every one of them - man, woman and child – is seen by the doctor.
Dr Ramana Rao won a Padma Shri in 2010 for his contribution in the field of medicine
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The combination of poverty, illness and old age is deadly.
We need primary health care, because 99.9 per cent
of all illnesses are simple "“
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I never get tired doing this! I have always viewed it as a prayer. The country needs
more such clinics, which are like temples "
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We are here for everyone – a boy with meningitis,
people of all ages, castes and religions. My wife Hema has always been a great
help. She used to drive me when I started a makeshift
clinic with a tent and an aluminium table "
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After Dr Ramana Rao examines the patients he gives each of them different tokens which indicate the medicines and treatment needed. Some of them come back with questions about the medicine, which he answers patiently. Many move on to get their blood pressure or sugar level checked, receive an injection or – for those with asthma - have a nebuliser session. Besides asthma, common complaints are arthritis, osteoporosis, backache, cough, joint pain and infections caused by lack of hygiene. A huge blow-up of the late Kannada film star Dr Raj Kumar, whom the people revere and to whom Dr Ramana Rao was personal physician, dominates the clinic
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Padma Shri Dr. B. Ramana Rao
Every child is given a box of deworming tablets and vitamin
syrup; adults get soap, toothpaste and personal hygiene products as
part of the Swasth Bharat initiative
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Padma Shri Dr. B. Ramana Rao
I was invited to meet Prince Charles when he was in Kochi . He asked me for
my views on rural health delivery to adopt the village clinic model in England "
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The food is what they normally eat at home, rice
and sambar – but this sambar has a lot of lentils and vegetables, providing much-needed protein "
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The last stop after medicine and tests or injections: the patients move on for a free meal. Each of them picks up a plate from a collection in a wire basket, washes it, along with their hands, with soap and water. After eating, they go through the washing process again.
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Dr Ramana Rao was awarded the Padma Shri in 2010 This recognition won me publicity which resulted in a jump in the number of patients at my village clinic.
Many medical colleges also invited me to be the chief guest and deliver motivational talks. After every engagement, there are a lot of youngsters who are keen to serve, and ask me how they should go about it.
There is no need to persuade them, only to create awareness! "“
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Padma Shri Dr. B. Ramana Rao Road, Shakuntala Farm, Byadarahalli Cross, T. Begur, Nelamangala (Tq.), Bangaluru Rural District
