42-year-old Mumbaiite helps patients find way around Sir JJ Hospital

42-year-old Abubaker Qadri, whom the hospital staff call a good Samaritan, has been proactively helping underprivileged or illiterate walk-in patients find the right counter, get their documents in order, or manage appointments over the past decade.

One of the oldest and most prominent government hospitals of Mumbai, Sir Jamshedji Jeejeebhoy (JJ) Hospital at Byculla, sees the footfall of thousands on a daily basis. Here, patients and their relatives are seen manoeuvring their way to reach the right counter after approaching the wrong one. There are also instances of patients leaving without seeing the doctor for lack of some document.

Abubaker Qadri at Sir JJ Hospital premises. (HT PHOTO)

The hospital is spread over 43 acres and sees a footfall of up to 5,000 outpatients and 300 admissions on a daily basis as opposed to its capacity of handling 1,352 patients.

The overburdened staff at the state-run hospital, where patients come from all corners of Maharashtra, hardly have time to guide the ones who are unable to find their way around the hospital. There have been instances of arguments and fights between patients’ relatives and hospital staffers due to lack of communication.

In view of this, 42-year-old Abubaker Qadri, whom the hospital staff call a good Samaritan, has been proactively helping underprivileged or illiterate walk-in patients over the past decade.

Qadri, who lives in Pydhonie which is a kilometre away from the hospital, is a regular at Sir JJ Hospital and is often seen holding a bunch of documents along with files of several patients, moving from one department to another. He is known for helping underprivileged patients deal with hospital management for over 10 years, acting as a mediator, and helping them fill out registration forms, enrolling them in available government health schemes, solving issues between staff and patients, and even pulling appointments with doctors.

He provides this help free of charge and earns his livelihood through a small side printing business which he runs early in the morning. His wife is a teacher at a private school. The couple collectively earn up to ₹50,000 each month.

When asked what motivated him to start helping out patients, he said, “Having spent my teenage years around this hospital, I have witnessed tragic accidents and the hassle that patients and their relatives go through. In 2010, a friend had asked me to help with someone’s admission at the hospital. That was when I saw how clueless patients had to run from one counter to another due to a single mistake in their documentation.”

Since then, Qadri continued helping patients in his free time. “I only help those who come through referral. I attend to 10-15 different cases on a daily basis. My family and my mentor Ali Bhai have been my guiding lights,” he said.

Answering to why he continues to help people despite no payback, he said, “Allah has given me enough and he has given me an opportunity to help the ones in need; why should I waste it? I don’t need people’s money; their blessings are my reward.”

Dr TP Lahane, director of state Directorate for Medical Education and Research (DMER) and former dean of Sir JJ Hospital, said, “Abu(baker) is a good soul. He has helped with a lot of law-and-order situations in the hospital and is always there for the needy.”

Qadri spends around six to seven hours a day doing this work, and despite the Covid-19 pandemic, he did not stop. Instead, he crowdfunded and arranged meals for 600 patients at the hospital on a daily basis for three months since the lockdown was announced.

One of the senior most health officials at the hospital said, “Abu has been a crucial part of our hospital administration. He has arranged food for patients throughout the lockdown and has earned enormous trust of our staff, which is why all issues of his patients are solved immediately.”

Qadri said, “I wish to continue doing this for as long as I can. I think there is a need for more volunteers who are trustworthy and can help the patients without ill-treating them.”