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What makes this sarkari hospital extraordinary? Its angel docs' ability to feel the...

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People's Pulse
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From the outside, the Nanded district hospital resembles a standard sarkari monolith, with thousands swarming its doors in serpentine queues that clog traffic on the street outside. Inside, the fetid smell, the stained walls, overflowing waste and unwashed bedsheets do nothing to advertise what is, beneath the surface squalor, an extraordinary house of healing. And that's thanks to its small, tireless team of doctors who perform miracles every day against tremendous odds.

In the crowded OPD, a two-year-old girl screams in pain as Dr Shivaji Wadekar gently examines her prolapsed rectum. He looks at the unhealthy inflammation, red with infection, advises the little girl's mother to immediately admit her for surgery, and quietly tells his assistant that this case will take longer than usual. A peon breaks the news of the impending delay to the waiting room, which murmurs its discontent. "Time is a rare commodity here in the OPD," sighs Dr Wadekar. "A slight delay could be the difference between life and death."

"We see about 200-300 patients everyday in our various OPDs, a number that is unthinkable in any urban hospital," the doctor points out. "And although this hospital is meant exclusively for Nanded district, many patients come from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh because of the lack of good government hospitals there. It puts immense pressure on an already overstretched staff and infrastructure."

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 My turn - The serpentine queue is proof ofthe patient's trust

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