Nirmal Kumar in front of the therapy centre at MGM Medical College and Hospital. Picture by Bhola Prasad

Jamshedpur, June 1: The anti-retro viral therapy centre at MGM Medical College and Hospital today has over 300 registered patients, thanks to the magnanimous work being done there.

Efficient diagnosis and eventual treatment in the form of effective counselling by a team of experts has brought about the success of this speciality unit at the government hospital.

And leading upfront is Nirmal Kumar, the nodal officer and the associate professor in medicine at the anti-retro viral therapy centre.

“The objective is to ensure that patients get the best of the facilities and treatment at the centre,” said Nirmal Kumar, mentioning that the centre is meant to deal with patients with probable symptoms of being HIV+.

For the centre, which began operations last November with 100-odd cases, the popularity has been tremendous.

The only other hospital in the entire state equipped to deal with people with probable symptoms is Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi.

“Repeated counselling is the key to treating this disease. A lot of conviction has to go into the entire process. Otherwise, they do not even come back to the centre next time,” said Kumar, who shoulders the responsibility of spearheading procedures at this place.

One among the 127 centres across the country, this speciality unit in Jamshedpur is an example to reckon with, more with the readily available stock of medicines.

“It is all linked to the internet. Medicines from us are transferred to places, which has an inadequate stock and vice-versa,” explained Kumar.

A former student of Patna Medical College and Hospital from where he completed his MBBS and MD, Kumar went to the Bedford Hospital in England to receive training for a period of four years.

Once the training got over, Kumar came back dutifully to his motherland to be a part of the medical system.

“It was never easy to settle down into the system of functioning here, more so in a government structure. But my adaptability played a big role in my adjustment in the country and Jamshedpur in particular.

Felicitated for his outstanding contribution to the field of medicine on Doctors’ Day recently by Indian Medical Association, Kumar is a regular visitor at Nirmal Hriday, an old age home for destitutes run by the Missionaries of Charity at Baradwari.

Life member of Indian Medical Association, Kumar is also a recognised life member of the Cardiological Society of India and the Indian Association of Critical Medicine, by the sheer virtue of being a cardiologist par excellence.

“It has been 10 years now that I am in Jamshedpur and the one thing that puts me off is the kind of value young students of medicine attach to the bigger modes of treatment by forgetting the basic things that can be used to avoid the loss of lives of people around us,” added Kumar.

Son of a doctor father, Kumar is happy with the fact that his daughter has opted to study medicine out of her own interest.