Remembering a man who transformed Thoppur hospital

Dr. Gandhimathinathan's retirement celebrated for transforming rural hospital into excellence, praised for integrity and compassion in service.

The man who transformed the ‘Kattaspathiri’ into a hospital of excellence after he took charge as Resident Medical Officer of Government Hospital for Thoracic Medicine at Austinpatti will be retiring from service this month-end.  

Marking the retirement of RMO S. Gandhimathinathan, his close friends and acquaintances released a book as a souvenir to celebrate his dedication in transforming the hospital from a nondescript rural facility into a sought-after hospital for its patient-friendly facilities and treatment.  

Retired professor Vincent who penned the book, remembering his journey with Dr. Gandhimathinathan, said the function was organised not just for recalling his service as a doctor, but as a celebration of Madurai people in remembering him as a great person.  “Those who know him will confidentially say that his work and service to the public was not done for namesake or publicity. His wholehearted service to the hospital exemplified his integrity and compassion for the patients,” he added.  

K. Senthil, president, Tamil Nadu Government Doctors’ Association, in his address, said, “I know him as a doctor in a government hospital - he was a straightforward man. Though he had a world of opportunities to do lucrative private practice, he never gave it a thought.”  When the doors were open for him to earn a lot, he stuck to the government service alone, he added.  

Psychiatrist C. Ramasubramanian, founder of M.S. Chellamuthu Trust and Research Foundation, in his address, said that when many government hospitals were not willing to house Emergency Care and Recovery Centre (ECRC) on their campus, Dr. Gandhimathinathan came forward to set up the facility so that the abandoned and those who needed psychiatric needs could be taken care of. This shows how patient care was foremost in his mind, though psychiatry is not his field of expertise. His gesture to house the centre on the premises of Thoppur hospital was overwhelming, he said.  

Hospital staff who worked with him shared their experiences of how things changed in the hospital after the arrival of Dr. Gandhimathinathan, and the personal impact he had on them.