Shabana had come to the day-care centre at Sadar Hospital, Ranchi to get her 11-year-old child Irfan Ansari treated, who suffers from thalassemia. She lost her younger son to the same disease last year. 

She said, “my younger son Zishan died last year because of thalassemia. My husband works at a bicycle shop and we can’t afford the cost of the treatment. Someone told me about this centre at Sadar Hospital in Ranchi. I came here and I am getting my son the needed treatment, free of cost.” 

Shabana’s story is one of the many examples of how the Government of Jharkhand is changing the narrative around health in state by providing access to world-class health facilities and treatments.
There are other diseases associated with blood-transfusion such as sickle cell anemia and hemophilia which are prevalent in the kids coming to the day-care centre established at Sadar Hospital for their treatment. 

Given its specialty in treating patients with blood-transfusion disorders, people from other states also visit this centre. The day care centre has capacity of 100 beds.

*Child-Friendly environment for the patients*

Given the primary motive of the centre is to provide appropriate treatment to children suffering from diseases associated with blood-transfusion, measures have been taken to ensure a child-friendly atmosphere. The measures include child-friendly rooms with comfortable cots, beautiful paintings on the walls, interactive child-friendly wallpapers, and a television with subscription to kids’ channels.

The nurses deputed at the unit are equipped with the necessary training in childcare. Healthy nutritious food, friendly nurses & doctors along with an interactive kid-friendly room are some of the key components incorporated in the unit. These components help in making the centre a welcoming and joyous place for children who suffer from painful blood-oriented disorders and are undergoing treatment.

The centre has a robust supply chain system which ensures that it would not run out of necessary medicines and patients would always be able to access quality health service.
Sadar Hospital is equipped with all the necessary facilities to treat blood-related disorders

Today, the Sadar Hospital, Ranchi has adequate facilities for treating blood-related disorders like Thalassemia and provides medicines as well as blood transfusion free of cost.

The new facilities that have been introduced include infusion pumps, intravenous iron chelation agent drugs and Leukocyte filters. According to the Civil Surgeon in Ranchi, these facilities will play a crucial role in helping the patients get better. He added, “dedicated indoor playground for kids has also been developed. This indoor play corner acts as a positive space for kids who visit District hospital for blood transfusion and other ailments".

*Patients from across the state and neighbouring states choosing this centre for treatment*

This centre acts as a lifeline for a considerable chunk of Jharkhand’s population living below the poverty line and are unable to afford appropriate treatment. Additionally, the patients visiting the centre for treatment are also provided with breakfast, lunch and dinner. Those patients which reside nearby are relieved the same day, whereas the outstation patients are allowed to stay the night.

The centre manager commented, “we have patients from across the state coming for the treatment. Apart from this many patients are also coming from other nearby states like Odisha, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh."