Commitment to Community
One of UK’s leading cosmetic doctors Dr Victor Sagoo who is also a Solihull GP has recently returned from India as part of a team of 10 UK specialist doctors who went to a small village in the state of Punjab in India to offer free medical treatment to help the poor who require medical attention.
As part of a charity set up 6 years ago the “slum doctor charity project” was started to offer free medical treatment from the point of seeking medical help to paying for drugs and operations for as many deprived people as possible who normally would not be able to afford any medical care.
Based at a school in the village of Phillur in the Punjab state of India Dr Sagoo and his team of 10 doctors saw and treated over 8000 patients over a 3 day period working 12 hours a day. They arranged for 300 eye operations,300 hearing aids were fitted and over 50 surgical operations were organised.
Day 1 of camp in the first hour of opening
Dr Sagoo says “thousands of people” travelled on foot up to 100km away to our medical camp to be seen ranging from young children to the very elderly. With nurses and translators helping us, our remit was to see each and every person that came through our doors and no one was turned away.
We saw some very poorly patients who required urgent hospital treatments and we arranged for operations to be carried out at a local charity hospital within 1 week of seeing us. We were overwhelmed by the love and respect from these people who had nothing but were so grateful for our help. Helping others and making a difference is something I find very humbling and it makes me grateful for the healthcare we have in the UK.
Dr. Sagoo was one of 10 UK doctors who saw 6000 patients in 3 days
Dr Sagoo saw patients as a general practitioner and cosmetic disfigurements offering his expertise. I remember seeing a very sick little boy who was malnourished and underweight with a rare blood disorder that had taken the lives of his 2 elder siblings. His younger sister was also afflicted with the same condition but their parents could not afford for treatment.
A 12-year-old boy came with his mother walked 40 km to see Dr Sagoo. The child was severely
underweight and with distended abdomen requiring hospital admission. Unfortunately, his
older 2 brothers had died of the same condition already.
We have now managed to secure hospital admission for both these siblings and hope they have a chance of survival. Helping others and making a difference I find very humbling and makes me grateful for the health care we have in the UK.
If you are interested in knowing more about the slum doctor project or contacting Dr Sagoo please see www.slumdoctor.co.uk or find Slumdoctor project on Facebook.
