Medicine Bank

Medicine Bank started in 1985 when a group of local youths suddenly struck upon the idea of collecting leftover medicines from homes and distributing those among the poor. It was an idea that came upon us when we often collected surplus medicines from our homes which we could distribute among people. We collected several such samples from a neighborhood and started a Medicine Bank. However, we had to also rope in doctors, without whose support it is not possible to run a medical facility.

In 1985, the centre started in a tin-shade with a broken chair and table. Local doctors like Sudhir Banerjee, Ashim Roy, Dr Manash Mukherjee and others supported the youths by sparing time for consultation once a week at the centre.

Seven visiting doctors come on different days to the centre. They are mostly doctors of general medicine, paediatrics and also a geriatrician. From last year’s record, 1,186 patients had consulted doctors at our centre. In cases where specialised consultation is required, we often send patients to the respective doctors, where they are checked for free.

Medicines are still collected from households, only that now, people donate surplus medicines at the counter. However, there are some expensive drugs that need to be bought from the market. From the time the centre started operating, we had to buy antibiotics from the market, because these are expensive. We started organizing an annual fund-raising walk on January 26 where we collect funds from local people. We also have a huge list of members who pay a monthly subscription for running the organization.