'The good doctor'

Dr Pradip Kumar Dutta maintains quite a busy schedule.

Every day, the 58-year-old professor and head of Nephrology department at Chittagong Medical College Hospital wakes up around 6:30am to head out for work.

In between getting ready, he also receives calls from patients and gives them appointment for consultation at his private chamber.

After performing his duties at the hospital, he attends patients at his chamber in Panchlaish Residential Area near CMCH from 3:00pm. He sees patients six days a week at CMCH and four days a week privately.

According to Wikipedia, nephrology is a specialty of medicine and paediatrics that concerns itself with the kidneys -- the study of normal kidney function and kidney disease, preservation of kidney health and treatment.

The doctor is also vice-principal of Chittagong Medical College and performs his duties there on a regular basis, according to his students and colleagues.

Up to now, this might as well be a story about a doctor who remains extremely busy with work. But what sets Dr Pradip apart is his passion and dedication towards helping others and steps he has been taking for many years in this regard.

When most of the consultant doctors (many of whom are his students) in Chittagong take Tk 800 to Tk 1,000 from patients at their private chambers, Dr Pradip charges Tk 300 per patient for consultation.

He has not increased his fee in the last 15 years. Moreover, after the first Tk 300, he does not charge a patient for seeking his consultation again -- how many times or whenever that might be.

Many of his patients said he also requests diagnostic centres to give the highest concession possible to patients for tests.

Last week, Titu Chakraborty took his mother to see Dr Pradip as she was suffering from kidney disease.

Titu said this was the third time he took his mother to Dr Pradip's chamber. “We paid Tk 300 during the first visit around eight months ago. He did not take any fee from us afterwards,” he said.

“We had visited many doctors but Dr Pradip was unlike anyone else. He never rushes while seeing a patient,” said Titu. He said with Dr Pradip's help his mother's condition is improving gradually.

Kidney patient Roksana Akter, 22, wife of an auto-rickshaw driver, said hearing about their financial problem, Dr Pradip helped her get admitted to CMCH's nephrology ward recently.

“I was concerned about my wife. But the good doctor asked me not to worry as her condition is not serious,” said her husband Md Afsar.

This correspondent also met 60-year-old Tahmina Khanam, who has been suffering from severe breathing problem, at the doctor's chamber recently.

“I had visited a number of doctors earlier; they charged me Tk 800 to Tk 1,000 on every occasion and advised me to perform expensive tests. But despite being a senior specialist, Dr Pradip took Tk 300 from me and said I don't have to pay any fee for next visits," said Tahmina.

“He also requested the diagnostic centres to give me concession for the tests,” she added.

The Daily Star spoke to the busy doctor at his chamber on a Tuesday afternoon.

He said, “I always advise patients to go to a government hospital as they can get treatment from a number of specialists there free of cost. In a private clinic, a patient has to wait for specialist doctors and spend a good amount of money.”

Dr Pradip said considering financial condition of the patients he decided not to increase his fee.

“I don't' see more than 20 patients per day in my chamber. I take time to examine them… if I see more patients, I don't think I would be able to do justice to all of them,” he said.

Dr Pradip obtained FCPS degree in medicine in 1991 and doctor of medicine degree in nephrology in 1998. He has published over 60 research articles in medical journals.

“I am proud to say I'm an alumnus of the same medical college I have become a vice principal of. Though I got selected at Dhaka Medical College, my parents 

encouraged me to study at CMC so that I could help people here,” said the doctor.

Dr Pradip is an inspiration to his family too. Both of his daughters have followed in his footsteps and became doctors.

The doctor also constantly worries about the state of medical profession in the country and how to treat patients in a better way. He said considering the rush of patients at CMCH, two more medical college hospitals should be established in the port city.