Hope at hand
For decades, the Tata Trusts’ Individual Grants Programme has brought hope for patients who cannot afford critical medical treatment
A medical emergency can be an unbearable load for impoverished families. Apart from the mental and physical toll, unaffordable medical bills can drain them financially as well, often pushing them into debt and leaving them helpless and despondent.
This is the case with B Shekhar*, a 43-year-old from Pondicherry. Shekhar was unable to walk and had severe shortness of breath. He was diagnosed as needing a coronary artery bypass graft and mitral valve repair. The family had been to several hospitals and finally come to the Madras Medical Mission, Chennai where the surgery was done. They had pawned their small house and jewellery, and borrowed money from relatives to pay for the surgery. But the ICU bill came as a complete shock. The family had no money left to pay it. The wife approached the hospital social worker to plead for help, saying: “I am a poor housewife. My husband works in a textile shop for a meagre pay of Rs 10,000. I have two children aged 10 and 12 studying in a government school. Please help me.” The hospital social worker recommended Shekhar’s case to Tata Trusts’ Individual Grants Programme (IGP).
The IGP’s mandate is to support people in dire need of funds for education and medical treatment. The medical grants are offered to patients who require specific medical treatment but are unable to afford it.
The IGP programme started in Mumbai decades ago. In recent years, the Medical Grants programme has been extending its reach to beneficiaries across the country by building a network of 40 government, municipal, private and charitable hospitals. In these hospitals, patients can get treatment at concessional rates on the recommendation of medical professionals and social workers, who determine the genuineness of the cases. IGP has been a saviour for over 2,800 patients.
Indumathi T* is another of IGP’s deserving cases. Diagnosed with heart disease at the age of 15, she had been forced to live a quiet life with her parents. She was now 37 and her father was worried that there would be no one to look after her once the parents passed away. She needed a permanent pacemaker to have any chance of living an independent life. The family had sold their gold and borrowed money to fund the surgery in a Chennai hospital but it wasn’t enough. Her case was recommended by the hospital social worker to Tata Trusts’ IGP and Indumathi now has hope for a better life.
*names changed to preserve identity
