Dr Namdev Shinde is a gynecologist with about 25 years of experience. The bulk of the experience is in the government service.

Back in 2013, a patient in a serious condition was brought in to the hospital where he worked. It was considered that the chances of the patient’s survival was as low as 2%. The patient who was under the care of a recently-appointed doctor passed away. However, Dr. Shinde(who was operating on another patient at the time) was held responsible for the death since he was the more experienced doctor in the hospital.

A committee was set up to investigate the patient’s death and they came to the conclusion that it wasn’t the doctor’s fault. The patient had died despite his best efforts.

However, even before the results of the committee’s investigations were out, Dr Shide was transferred(his daughter terms it a “punishment transfer”) to a tiny hamlet called Somardi in the Satara district of Maharashtra.

The hospital where he was posted looked like this at the time:

The hospital lacked in staff members except for two nurses. Rarely did a patient visit the hospital.

He had another, high-paying option. But then he chose to accept the transfer

Now, the fact was that since he had already completed 20 years of government service, the doctor was eligible for a pension. Meaning, having resigned, he could have worked in a private hospital.

But Dr Shinde, not turning away from a challenge, chose to move to Somadri.

The despondent state of the hospital had even some of the people in the region advising him to just finish his three years without working, simply marking his presence and receiving his salary.

Hardly the kind of thing that Dr Shinde could accept.

Instead, he himself hired laborers who cleaned up the buildings and the surroundings making the place at least walkable. More than that, he appointed someone to supply drugs and also had the nurses visiting the people at home to treat them. This way, the people in the region came to know that there was a new doctor in the hospital. More number of patients began visiting.

Now that patients had begun to arrive, the doctor started collecting donations. Using this money, he not just restored the buildings but even built some new ones.

The story doesn’t end there.

He began doing surgeries in the hospital. Before this, the people in the region had to visit the district hospital for surgeries. And when the doctor asked of the authorities for more staff members, they were provided, seeing the progress he has brought to the hospital.

Thanks to the doctor’s dedication, the hospital in Somadri now sports a green lawn and the interiors are spic and clean, not to mention efficient.

Take a look at some of the facilities that have sprouted with the doctor’s efforts:

Image credits: Nehali Shinde/quora.com

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