‘Long-term preservation for OGH’

“My idea is to first shift the patients and then do a thorough assessment of the hospital. If it can be saved, then it should continue to run as a hospital, instead of converting it into a medical museum.

The basic structure is alright, but the problems are because of bad maintenance. For example, the plaster falls due to seepage. Whenever that happens, they repair it with cement. That doesn’t work, since the whole structure is built with lime and mortar, which doesn’t gel with cement. The repairs have only been temporary; we have to look at long-term preservation.

“Learning medicine is one aspect, but learning to deal with human emotions or helping others is what I learnt at OGH. I did my MBBS from the Osmania Medical College in 1976. At that time, there were many communal riots so we would get about 100-150 patients every night. We had six surgical units running round the clock, along with the specialties.

“During my initial training, I used to suffer from severe giddiness and nausea, every time I saw blood. From that state, I became a surgeon and it’s all because of Osmania. “To study infectious diseases like tetanus, many foreign students came here as Osmania had an entire Tetanus Ward. I’ve seen the most beautiful child suffering from rabies, which is a fatal disease. She was kept in an enclosure, like she was condemned to death. That was about 33 years ago, but even today I get goose bumps. All these experiences have made me the doctor that I am today.”

— As told to Latika Marri