Doctors offer free service at mutt’s OPD

Hubballi: Siddharoodha Mutt which attracts devotees from Karnataka and neighbouring states is known for its Anna Dasoha programme in which it feeds about 5,000 devotees every day. The mutt has also been delivering free healthcare services through its Arogya Dasoha programme from a year.
More than 6,000 devotees of devotees of Siddharoodha and Gurunatharoodha Swamiji have availed the services at the Siddaroodha Free Health Check-up Centre so far. Dr Basavraj Sankangoudar, one of the trustees at the mutt and the brain behind the OPD said he always wanted to offer his service in the name of Siddharoodha Swamiji and added that he mooted the idea after becoming the trustee last year.
“To motivate other doctors, I started offering free service everyday morning from 8am to 10.30am. Through word of mouth, the centre got the attention of other doctors. Now around 10 doctors are regularly rendering their service at the OPD in the mutt,” he said.
Apart from Dr Sankangoudar, two other physicians are offering free service every day from 3pm to 7pm.
Every Sunday, gynaecologist Dr Savita Nadagouda is available at the OPD from 9am to 12pm while ENT specialist Priya Katti treats patients 9am to 12pm every Monday. Dentist Dr Manoj Bhat offers free service at the Mutt’s OPD on Mondays. This apart, Ayurveda doctor Dr Siddangouda Patil is available at the OPD from 4pm to 7.30pm every Monday.
“Ophthalmologist Dr Varsha Bangarshettar visits the centre every Saturday. Every Monday, she conducts free cataract surgeries to patients and around 25 patients avail this every week,” Dr Shankangoudar said.
He added that they hold a camp for diabetes patients every Sunday. A camp by a specialist doctor is also held once a month.
Free medicines too
Dr Sankangoudar said that so far the doctors at the OPD have not prescribed a single medicine that a patient has to buy from a medical shop. “The patients are provided all the medicines free of cost. For this, the doctors have formed a social media group called Aushada Jolige (Medicine sack) under which they offer medicines which they have in excess along with physician’s samples. The doctors bring the excess medicines from their clinics or nursing homes or send it to the OPD,” he said.