Meet The Doctor Who Quit High-Paying Jobs At Delhi Hospitals To Treat Patients for Rs 50 in Rural Bihar

While working in a highly reputable private hospital in New Delhi, Dr S M Ziaur Rahman encountered an impoverished patient from Bihar — tired, anxious, and far from home. That meeting would go on to alter not just two lives, but the very landscape of healthcare in the village he had once left behind.

“I met a patient whose blood pressure was 20/150. During our conversation, he mentioned that he came from a rural area that lacked access to doctors. I got curious about his background, so I asked him more about where he was from. To my surprise, he said Khagaria — my own district in Bihar. That patient had come all the way from Bihar to Delhi [1,200 kilometres] just for the treatment,” he shares.

This revelation shook him. “Despite the presence of world-class medical care in places like Delhi, there was still a lack of adequate services in my region. This experience lit a spark in me — a determination to work in my hometown and improve healthcare access there,” adds Dr Rahman.

At the time, Dr Rahman was working in the non-invasive cardiac department and had a clear path ahead: a stable, high-paying career in the city. But that single conversation awakened something deeper — a pull towards home, where healthcare was not a business, but a lifeline.

“In cities, healthcare is business; back home, it’s about survival,” he says. That became the cornerstone of his mission: to provide accessible healthcare to the people of his hometown.

An innocent childhood promise

Dr Rahman was born into an impoverished farmer family in a small village in Bihar’s Khagaria district. His father owned about five acres of land and three buffalo. 

“This was our family’s only asset,” he says. “But despite our circumstances, my father never once insisted that I take on the responsibilities of farming or tending to the buffalo. Even my mother never forced me to go to the flour mill to grind grains. Instead, my parents encouraged me to focus on my education. They placed all their faith in my education, and I never wanted to betray that trust.” 

Dr Rahman was just a child when he learnt one of life’s harshest lessons. Once, he accompanied his ailing mother and younger brother to a hospital. They couldn’t afford to pay for two separate consultations, which led to humiliation at the hands of a compounder.

“I was about five or six years old when my mother took me and my younger brother to a hospital. We didn’t have enough money, so she asked the compounder if both of us could be treated under the same prescription to save money. He reacted harshly, scolding us for being poor. I was too young to understand everything, but I remember the shame,” he recalls.

“The doctor, whom I revered and still consider my role model, was compassionate and did not treat us poorly. This experience stayed with me,” he shares.

The indignity of being scolded for poverty became a turning point in Dr Rahman’s life — one that shaped his resolve to transform healthcare for the underprivileged. “One day,” he vowed, “I will become a doctor who never turns anyone away for lack of money.”

Another incident that further pushed him towards his goal came in school, when his biology teacher asked a question in class. Dr Rahman answered it instantly. “He blessed me and said I’d become a doctor one day.”

“This acknowledgement from him, followed by my classmates affectionately teasing me by calling me ‘doctor sahab’, instilled a belief within me. I began to envision a future in medicine, perceiving the teacher’s words as a blessing and guiding light,” he adds.

With a scholarship from a charitable trust in Delhi, he pursued his medical education at Patna Medical College. His determination saw him through, enabling him to fulfil his dream of becoming a doctor. Thanks to his academic prowess and empathetic nature, he went on to earn a coveted residency at Apollo Hospital, where he specialised in non-invasive cardiac procedures.

Building a hospital from scratch in Khagaria

In 2010, Dr Rahman founded the National Medicare Hospital & Research Centre in Khagaria, a 50-bed facility that offers regular check-ups as well as emergency services, including treatments for snake bites — a common threat in rural Bihar.

For Dr Rahman, work doesn’t end with the setting sun. Nights often find him attending to emergencies, sleeping only after ensuring patients’ stability. “We operate between 11 am and 11 pm. Sometimes, I need to extend working hours, too. Just last night,two heart attack patients came in. I came back home after midnight.”

Yet, he finds balance. “I sleep soundly during non-working hours. This allows me to function better,” he adds.

This, Dr Rahman says, has been his lifestyle for the past 15 years. Over these years, Dr Rahman’s impact is reflected in the thousands of patients he has treated.

A blessing during the darkest days

One of his patients, Hamza Khaild, recalls how Dr Rahman’s kindness saved his family from financial ruin. “In 2022, my father had a paralytic stroke during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. We admitted him to a hospital in Begusarai, but in one week, the bill touched Rs 1 lakh. We were devastated.”

“Then, we consulted Dr Rahman, and he advised us to shift my father to the CCU at his hospital. We took him there, and we received immense support — they charged nothing for the CCU. Their kindness was a blessing during a challenging time, and they have aided many others similarly. I can never repay them for their generosity!”

The hospital, under Dr Rahman’s relentless workmanship, treats about 70 patients daily — many of whom cannot afford even the modest Rs 50 consultation fee. For him, medicine transcends the commercial gain — it is, above all, a sacred duty.

When asked if he ever regrets leaving a high-paying job in the city, Dr Rahman replies, “I lead a simple life, free from material desires, and that brings me peace. More importantly, I have built a deep connection with this community. My patients often bring me thekua (a traditional jaggery-based sweet offered during Chhath Puja), curd, and ghee during Makarsankranti. Sometimes, they bring sweet potatoes and vegetables from their fields. These gestures of gratitude fill my home more than any material wealth could.”

“Respect from my peers and smiles from my patients fuel my spirit more than any luxury ever could,” he says with a contented smile.

In forsaking a life of material abundance, and by bringing quality healthcare to doors previously locked by poverty, Dr Rahman continues to build a legacy that positively alters the course of his community’s future.

Edited by Khushi Arora; All images courtesy Dr S M Ziaur Rahman

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