Eight years of healing the helpless at Kapoor trust

Starting off with modest physiotherapy and acupressure departments, the Lala Ram Kishore Kapoor Viklang Sahayta Trust has come a long way in providing quality medical services with state-of-the-art equipment at subsidised rates to the destitute and underprivileged for the past eight years.

Operating since 2017 from the premises of Apahaj Ashram in Jalandhar, the trust was established with the aim of making modern medical facilities accessible to all sections of society. Founded by Tarsem Kapoor, Chairman of Apahaj Ashram, and named in the memory of his father Late Lala Ram Kishore Kapoor, the trust currently handles a collective OPD of 100 to 120 patients daily, amounting to over 3,000 patients per month. Additionally, the 125 inmates of Apahaj Ashram receive completely free medical care.

The trust today houses an in-house dispensary, a state-of-the-art laboratory, along with ophthalmology and digital X-ray wings.

The physiotherapy and acupressure departments were launched in 2017 with support from Jyoti Sahni (USA). In 2018, the Tagore Dispensary was established in collaboration with Tagore Hospital under renowned cardiologist Dr Vijay Mahajan. Doctors from the Tagore Hospital provide consultations and four days’ worth of medicines to the needy for just Rs 30.

In 2019, a modern clinical pathology lab was set up in collaboration with Dr SPS Singh Oberoi’s Sarbat Da Bhala Charitable Trust, which provides all vital blood test facilities to the needy at merely Rs 50.

The Department of Ophthalmology was added in 2021 by Dr Jagdeep Singh, and is currently overseen by retina specialist Dr Gagandeep Singh and his team, providing eye exams for just Rs 30. The ophthalmology wing is equipped with advanced tools such as Topcon slit lamp for microscopic examination of both external and internal eye structures, Topcon lensometer that is used to determine the prescription of old spectacles, Quantel A-scan machine which measures eye length and chamber depth, crucial for calculating lens power in cataract surgeries, OM-9 Takagi surgical microscope from Japan that enables precise and complex eye surgeries and Ortli Catarex 3 Phaco Machine (Switzerland) which allows for bladeless, sutureless cataract operations.

The facility is also equipped with a digital X-ray machine and a dental chair. Regular medical camps are organised to provide free eye and dental surgeries for those in need.

The team of doctors, which provides facilities either in-house or on a consultation basis, includes Dr Vijay Mahajan (cardiologist), Dr Gagandeep Singh DNB (retina specialist), Dr Ashwani Duggal (general physician), Dr Arshdeeep Kaur (dental), Dr Dhiraj Kumar (physiotherapy), Dr Shelly Sehdev (acupressure), among others. The trust is supported by a team of 18 staff members, led by Administrator Chair Narayan.

Apahaj Ashram Chairperson Tarsem Kapoor said, “The Apahaj Ashram was set up in 1964 and has been committed to taking care of people’s well-being. Through this trust, we’ve realised our dream of offering quality healthcare not just to our inmates, but to countless needy individuals at our own premises. An expert team of doctors has been serving the destitute to ensure quality healthcare without the concerns of hefty expenses.”