One of the nation’s oldest private medical facilities is Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi. Civil engineer and philanthropist Sir Ganga Ram founded the hospital in 1921 because he thought it was important to create institutions that could benefit society. At a time when the majority of people were performing acts of kindness in the name of their religion, Sir Ganga Ram constructed a hospital that has endured the upheaval of Partition and the ensuing communal strife.
Now, the hospital is a reputable name that exhibits steady business growth year after year while continuing to be a charitable trust. The hospital’s founders set a high standard, and the management and personnel at the hospital continue to be motivated by their legacy.
The current Chairman of the Board of Management, Dr. D.S. Rana has been connected to the hospital for more than 50 years. He tells how two senior physicians from Sir Ganga Ram Hospital persuaded him to join their team when he was a young physician at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi. Dr. Rana chose to take the risk after they promised him a career full of adventure and a pay raise.
My father complained that I had joined a “Lala ki dukaan” when I called to tell him that I had quit a government position to work at a private hospital. “But looking back now, after 50 years, I can claim that at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, we invented a number of medical procedures and systems,” infers Dr. Rana.
For instance, the hospital performed the first successful dialysis and blood transfusion in the field of nephrology back in the 1980s, saving countless lives in the years that followed. Dr. Rana attributes the hospital’s success to the founders’ aptitude for detecting potential and their unyielding stance against interfering with doctors’ work and requirements.
Being a profitable company while running a charity trust is not simple. It is also challenging to maintain a solid brand reputation while demonstrating year over year business growth. Yet, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital has succeeded in achieving the ideal balance between these two objectives. The hospital’s management and employees, who are dedicated to giving their patients the finest care possible, have continued its founders’ objective of helping society.
