Savita Memorial Trust was set up under the Bombay Public Trust Act by the late Dr. HM Patel, the former Finance and Home Minister of India, in memory of his wife, Savitaben, in 1974. Though not very active since inception, Health Equity has become its first major initiative, which it is presently implementing in Sojitra Taluka of Anand district in Gujarat. Sojitra was where Savitaben was born and raised.

In a way, it was inevitable that the Savita Memorial Trust would become a vehicle to make modern, professional healthcare available to the community. Savitaben herself did not have access to healthcare when she needed it the most. She was diabetic and when in need of qualified medical aid, she was denied it. This is how Dr. Amrita Patel, her daughter and a Founder-Trustee of the Trust, narrates the story:

“My mother was born on Diwali Day of 1907 and was named Diwaliben. She died on 30^th November 1970 which also happened to be Diwali Day that year.

My niece Nayan had come to Vallabh Vidyanagar to spend her Diwali holidays with her grandparents. On the evening before Diwali, we enjoyed ourselves watching fireworks in the garden. My mother suggested that since my father, who was in Mumbai, was due to return the next day, we  should keep some firecrackers aside  for the next day which in fact was Diwali so that we could enjoy them with him.

After dinner, we retired for the night. At about 2 a.m., our maid, who used to sleep outside my mother’s room, woke me up to say that my mother was not feeling well. I went down and saw that she was clearly in great discomfort and had difficulty in breathing.

I tried calling our two family doctors but got no response. I then called up my father’s secretary and explained our predicament and he suggested that we drive to Anand to the home of the doctor. I picked the secretary up in my Fiat and we drove to the homes of the doctors only learn that they were not in Anand, but had gone away to celebrate Diwali.

We then drove to the Civil Hospital and met the doctor in charge and persuaded him to come to the house. After he had examined mother, he said she needed to be shifted to the hospital immediately.  My mother was a heavy person and so we lifted her up and sat her in a chair and pushed her to the front door and then lifted her into the car.

As we were approaching Anand, a car was coming in the opposite direction and we recognised it to be my father’s car which was bringing him from the railway station. The Gujarat Mail from Mumbai used to reach Anand station very early in the morning - around 4.45/5 a.m.. We stopped the car and explained what had happened. He got into my car and we drove off to the hospital. I think there was a momentary recognition and my mother knew that my father was there. But they did not speak.

When we got to the hospital, mother was taken into the hospital  and the doctor started giving her an intravenous injection. I was standing next to her and could see that the needle clearly was not in the vein  as the medicine was going all around and there was a swelling around the needle. I panicked and said to the doctor, “What are you doing?”. He looked up at me and said, “Take her away”, and then walked away.  I realised then that he wanted me to take her away and was not going to treat her. The only other  hospital in Anand in those days was a Salvation Army hospital. The issue was how to take her there.

By then it was  about 5.30 and still dark outside. I went out of the hospital and found 2 handcarts with their owners asleep on them. I woke up one of them and asked him if we would please put mother on his cart and push her to the hospital. He agreed and we pushed her to the Salvation Army Hospital which was within walking distance. I held her hand  all the way but it became clear very soon that we had lost her. She was declared dead when we reached the hospital.

After the formalities were over, my mother was put in an ambulance and my father and I drove home behind it.”

This, then, is the genesis of Health Equity and the reason behind its mission.