Dr. G Bhakthavatsalam

Dr. G. Bakthavathsalam
MBBS, MS, FICS, FCCP, FAMS, FMMC
Chairman
K.G. Hospital,
Coimbatore, India.

Dr. G. Bakthavathsalam is a renowned surgeon, philanthropist, orator and a dedicated teacher with sterling qualities, which he maintains throughout his career. A man of principles and strong convictions, he believes in doing one's duty with honesty and hard work. He is a "Humane Surgeon" with whom his patients can feel comfortable. He is the Founder of Centres of Excellence in Healthcare, Education, Information Technology and Power.
He believes that a doctor has to be compassionate, honest in all interactions (no matter how difficult), resolute in their wanting to heal (as well as to possibly cure), patient, optimistic, approachable, inquisitive, proactive and flexible. His amazing intra-operative skills are par excellent. A person who embodied clinical practice, mingled with fierce desire to teach and disseminate knowledge, has made him an able academician. He has many admirable qualities, such as punctuality, discipline, commitment, deep devotion to duty and straightforwardness, which enable him to achieve the ladder of success.

He leads a team of doctors, PGs, residents and fellows on 'grand rounds' through the hospital which is the hallmark of academic medicine in K.G. Hospital. He advises the doctors to make a commitment to provide the best possible medical care to an underserved population. Dr. GB strives to teach students the core principles of understanding medicine and human values. He also brings a sense of fun and enthusiasm to his teaching. He is a compassionate doctor and a meticulous surgeon who has personally mentored hundreds of good doctors and nurses. He takes classes for postgraduate students who pursue Diplomate programmes in various disciplines of National Board of Examinations and moulds their attitude and behaviour on a continuing basis. His goal is to improve patient care each day.
At the end of the day, he always asks his doctors, "What did you learn today, how did you make a difference, and how did the patients get better?" He makes a balance sheet every day to assess how many patients he treated each day and satisfied them.
Born on April 5, 1942 at Annur and graduated (MBBS - 1964) from Madras Medical College, and also having obtained an MS from the same college, he had his post graduate training in Surgery in Mount Sinai Hospital, Chicago (USA). On the clarion call given by his father, Dharmaveera K. Govinda swamy Naidu, to serve the countrymen in the field of healthcare, he returned to India in the year 1974 to start K.G. Hospital. It has now grown into a 550-bedded multi and super speciality and post graduate medical center - a "Centre of Excellence" recognized in India and abroad.
Dr. Bakthavathsalam is a Fellow of:
• Association of Surgeons of India (Chennai),
• International College of Surgeons (USA),
• College of Chest Physicians (New Delhi),
• Academy of Medical Specialities (New Delhi),
• G.I. Endoscopy (Tokyo University).
He has been President of:
• Indian Medical Association,
• Association of Surgeons of India,
• Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy of India.
He has been Member of:
• Medical Council of India,
• Advisory Board, Madurai Kamaraj University,
• Dr. M.G.R. Medical University,
• National Healthcare Committee of CII, New Delhi
He is a Member of:
• Academic Council of Government Arts College (Coimbatore),
• Thiruvalluvar University (Vellore),
• Planning Board, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore,
• Delegation of CII National Healthcare Committee, which participated in two international conferences on Healthcare at Singapore.
• National Healthcare Committee of CII, New Delhi

He was Chairman of:
• CII's Healthcare Sub-Committee (Southern Region) for two years

He founded an exclusive "Multi Speciality Eye Hospital", where so far, over 90,000 poor patients (who were in darkness and were blind) have undergone free IOL cataract surgeries and thus restored vision to them. In his book titled "INDIA: A Vision for the New Millennium", Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has commended in two pages (page Nos. 234-235) about his charitable activities being done in K.G. Eye Hospital.
More than 20 lakh people have received highly subsidized treatments and undergone surgeries at K.G. Hospital over the years. More than 5,000 dialysis have been done free of cost for the poor.
Out of 5,000 open heart, valve replacement and congenital deformity surgeries performed by the hospital, over 1,000 heart surgeries have been performed free of cost for the poor. At the request of the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Dr. M. Karunanidhi, Dr. GB signed an MOU titled ILAM SIRAR IRUDAYA PAADUKAAPPU THITTAM, i.e. a scheme to save the hearts of poor children. More than 450 children have been operated free of cost during the last one year. These children were waiting for cardiac surgery for the past 1 to 8 years. These children are leading normal lives now. This is an ongoing scheme. K.G. Hospital has also joined hands with the Tamil Nadu Government to implement the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister's Insurance Scheme for Life Saving Treatment for below the poverty line families.
Dr. Bakthavathsalam has created centres of excellence in nursing and physiotherapy, viz. K.G. School of Nursing, K.G. College of Nursing and K.G. College of Physiotherapy. More than 8,000 students have come out successfully from these institutions. They are occupying eminent positions in the country and abroad.
He has also set up institutions of higher learning in Coimbatore, viz.
• KGISL-IIM (which conducts MCA course),
• KGISL-Institute of Technology (KITE) (Engineering College),
• K.G. College of Arts & Science

The hospital, being a "Trust Hospital", functions on a not-for-profit basis, so that any person could take treatment in the hospital, whether he is rich or poor, at a fairly reasonable cost.
The hospital has been recognized by the Government of India, State Governments of Tamil Nadu and Kerala and also a host of banks, insurance companies, public and private sector undertakings, Air Force, Defence establishments and also under the ECHS and ESI Schemes, where retired Defence personnel and their family members take treatment.
The hospital runs a fleet of ambulances across the district of Coimbatore to pick up people involved in road accidents and trauma. The hospital has also tied up with the Coimbatore Police for the project titled 'Golden Hour' mooted by the Commissioner of Police to save road accident victims. The hospital has also launched a MOTORCYCLE AMBULANCE to reach out to accident victims immediately for rendering immediate first aid.
The hospital has a regional blood bank, which supplies blood and blood components to over 250 hospitals in and around Coimbatore and neighbouring districts.
Dr. Bakthavathsalam has contributed his mite to help the Tsunami victims by rushing medicines, paramedical personnel and doctors to Cuddalore, the Tsunami hit area
During the Kargil War, blood and blood components and a philanthropic support of Rs.16 lakhs were given to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Dr. M. Karunanidhi.
During the Kumbakonam school fire accident, 300 units of blood plasma and drugs worth Rs.5 lakhs were donated.
During the Coimbatore blast of 1998, Dr. Bakthavathsalam was responsible for saving 250 bomb blast victims.
K.G. Hospital & Post Graduate Medical Institute has been recognized by National Board of Examinations, New Delhi, in 11 different specialities. The education imparted to the doctors is on par with British and American standards.
Dr. GB's mission is to educate the public as to how to prevent diseases. So far, 3,000 public education programmes have been conducted by him. His mission is also to educate the young medical students in a professional way. He has conducted 2,500 continuing medical education programmes for doctors over the years.
Dr. Bakthavathsalam has written a Tamil book titled IDHAYAM ORU KOVIL (GOD LIVES IN YOUR HEART), which has been well received by the general public. The book provides hints for people to avoid a heart attack and also gives guidelines to lead a healthy life. This book is being translated into English, Hindi and Malayalam.
Dr. GB is a visionary and a pioneer for having introduced the 'state-of-the-art medical facilities' in Coimbatore, so as to make the city a preferred 'Medical Destination' for the rich and the poor alike. He installs revolutionary medical equipments for the hospital, which have been benefiting the people considerably. Installation of the world's fastest and Asia's first 128 Slice Heart CT Scanner is one of the recent additions.
He is the Founder Chairman of "KGISL Software Park of Excellence" at Coimbatore, a world class institution, employing thousands of software professionals. KG Group has diverse interests in textiles, engineering, finance, healthcare, education, travel and entertainment.
Saravanampatti, a sleepy village - on the outskirts of Coimbatore - until a decade ago, has been transformed into a hi-tech village by him following the concept of "Providing Urban Opportunities in Rural Areas" (PURA) propounded by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. The village today has everything that a modern town needs.
He is also the Chairman of 'Coimbatore Hitech Infrastructure Private Limited" (CHIL), which has created the first Special Economic Zone (SEZ) IT Park in Coimbatore. Multinational companies like Robert Bosch, Cognizant Technology, Perot Systems and SPI Healthcare, have set up their facilities in the SEZ. Once fully operational, all of these companies would create employment potential to over 50,000 people.
Dr. GB has also forayed into alternate form of energy by setting up India's first Solar Thermal Power Research Institute in K.G. Campus using indigenous technology. He has laid down an ambitious plan to generate solar energy, so as to supplement Government's efforts in this direction. This project will create "Green Energy Revolution" in the country, apart from providing employment opportunities to thousands of rural people.
Dr. GB is of the strong view that 'Preventive Medicine' needs to be propagated extensively in the country, so that people would take appropriate measures to combat diseases and adopt life style modifications to detect various ailments at the inception itself and thus get rid of the disease. This would cut costs and provide relief to the patients faster. Towards this end, he launched a project called "Save a Million Hearts", to carry out heart check up and treatment on one million people in a phased manner in the next ten years.
He is a teacher, philosopher, guie and mentor for health care professionals. He has an indomitable spirit for public service. He is an intellectual and passionate person admired by all sections of the society. He is the most popular doctor and teacher and has inspired a number of students, which he continues to do.
AWARDS conferred on Dr. GB:
• Dr. B.C. Roy Award (1984)
• Seva Ratna Award
• Vaidya Ratna Award
• Rotary Vocational Excellence Award
• Life Time Achievement Award in Medicine
• Distinguished PSG Alumni Award
• Chandrayan of Doctors Award
• The Jewel of Coimbatore Award
• Padma Shri Award (2005)
• Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) Honoris Causa (2009) - The Tamilnadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University