Retired from work, they give healing touch to poor

Vadodara: Till November 14 last year, patients coming to the state-run SSG Hospital saw Deepakbhai as God sent as he helped them with the cumbersome paperwork and locating various departments.
A patient of depression, Deepakbhai over came his condition by socializing and helping patients in the campus. Now, this retired bank employee, is not only recovering but has also become an inspiration for more retired persons to lend a helping hand to patients and their kin in SSG.
After TOI reported about this samaritan in November 2014, retired individuals from across the city have joined hands with him to serve the poor coming for treatment.
"It was surprising when people told me that some men were asking for directions to find me. I thought it was me who was showing people around," the depression told TOI with a rare chuckle.
Deepakbhai started what he calls his "mobile inquiry service" in 2007 when he came to the SSG for treatment of clinical depression.
Over the next few years, he was joined by four other retired men in assisting patients by collecting reports for them, escorting them to different wards and departments and keeping the waiting relatives company. Since November 2014, six more retired men approached Deepakbhai to join him in the work
These retired men say they had come to help other but have found new friends in the process. The group is now determined to expand their service to other departments of the hospital other than the out-patient department which they mainly focus on.
"There are a people who want to help others but cannot find the appropriate platform. We can associate ourselves with the many NGOs in the city, but working here is about helping others when they are actually feeling lost in an unknown place. The relief on their faces when they complete the many procedures of the hospital is our reward," said Jatinbhai, a retired teacher from a private school.
Along with his expanding group, the support and companionship is working wonders for Deepakbhai. He is showing signs of recovery from clinical depression for the first time in seven years.