CHENNAI: Awards are not just a token of appreciation for the good work but they are also serve as a model of aspiration others want to emulate. On the occasion of Doctor’s Day, the EKAM Foundation and Udhavum Ullangal Public Charitable Trust honoured six doctors and two institutions with ‘Dr KS Sanjivi Award’ for their tireless commitment and dedication to the practice of medicine as a service to the poor and needy, without compromising professional excellence. Each awardee, had been instrumental in bringing about a transformation among the deserving underprivileged in their respective specialisations. Dr Arun Seshachalam, a Pediatric Medical Oncologitst at GVN Cancer Hospital, Tiruchy, can take the credit for setting up the Tobacco cessation Centre in rural hospitals and PHCs, covering 14 districts around Trichy. “While we talk about giving free treatment for children affected by cancer and palliative care, most of the time we focus on the visible cost of cancer treatment. But the invisible cost is really high. For such a child from a small district town, if they have to come to the city looking for a treatment, which runs to about 2.5 years, imagine the scale of expenditure they will have to incur by staying in a new city! We have to establish supportive linkages to address this issue,” he said.In his acceptance speech, Dr TS Chandrasekar, the Founder of MedIndia Hospitals, recalled an incident about Mother Teresa. He said, “I had the opportunity to study in the best med schools. After I finished my education abroad, I was least inclined to come to India. It was then thatI happened to read this famous anecdote about Mother Teresa. A businessman spat on her when she asked for charity, for which she had apparently answered, this spit is for me, now what about the children? It was turning point in my life.” Today he serves the orphaned mentally challenged and differently-abled children and had substantially worked on silent diseases. Dr Arvind Krishnamurthy, a Surgical Oncologist in Cancer Institute Chennai, goes beyond the protocol of his job of treating patients and helps them rebuild their lives through rehabilitation programmes. Dr P Gunasekaran, Deputy Director and Head of the Department of Virology in King Institute of Preventive and Research, is known for this outstanding work in the control of epidemic diseases, especially for his work on finding a vaccine for HINI virus. Another highlight of his contribution, is his recent pilot project in using Amnion Therapy to cure leprosy ulcers. He said, “We are now going to bring this in the powdered form, which could also be used for burn patients.”Dr R Ramakrishnan, Ophthalmologist at Aravind Eye Hospital, Triunelveli who had conducted 50,000 free surgeries and hundreds of free eye camps was also honoured.Dr N Krishnaswamy was awarded for his lifetime contribution to the poor and needy. I.C.O Charitable Trust that runs the Shifa Free hospitals in Erode, which had reached out to 10 lakh people and Cure Trust, Madurai which works on organ donation were the institutions which were awarded.Dr V Shantha, Executive Chairperson, Cancer Institute, who honoured the awardees, pointed out the sad state of eroding medical ethos among the medical fraternity. She also pointed out the excessive use of expensive technology by the medical community just because they are available. “A good doctor will prescribe such a test only if it necessary. Just because it is available doesn’t mean doctors should prescribe a cybeknife, CT Scan, etc, for patients. A patient trust their life with us. It is also the doctor’s responsibility to provide cost effective quality treatment.” The award was instituted in 2004 to honour Dr KS Sanjivi, who was founder of Voluntary Health Services and a pioneer of Community Health Care Services, a visionary in the concept of Community Health. So far 55 doctors and 12 institutions have been honoured with the KS Sanjivi Award.
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