Countess of Dufferin Hospital (Sir Sayajirao General Hospital)

Just like every other field, Baroda State also excelled in the field of Health care. And, Sir Sayajirao General Hospital (SSG Hospital) was the forefront of these health-related initiatives led by Maharaja Sayajrao Gaekwad III and his minister Diwan T. Madhavrao. Earlier known as the Countess of Dufferin Hospital, it was commissioned in the late 1870s. Completed in the year 1886, its inauguration took place at the hands of the Earl of Dufferin.

Backdrop:

Before 1855 the doctors in the Baroda State were only Hakims and Vaids who followed the traditional medicine system. In 1855, a General Hospital was established during the reign of Maharaja Ganpatrao Gaekwad. With the passage of time, this building slowly became inadequate with the rising needs of the city. After this, the major work in this field only resumed during the reign of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III in the mid and late 1870s.

In 1876, a full-fledged medical department was started by the State administration under the guidance of Sir T. Madhavrao. This department took on the massive task of looking after the medical needs of all the State territories. Between 1876-1907, the city’s major hospitals were erected. These were the Jamnabai Dispensary, Sayajirao Military Hospital, the Countess of Dufferin Hospital and the new State General Hospital. From this, the Countess Hospital was to take the place of the old General Hospital across the Kirti Mandir.

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The Countess of Dufferin Hospital:

Major Mant designed the hospital in his signature Indo-Saracenic style. It features elements such as domes, cusped arches, and finials. Modified countless times over the years, the first version of the hospital was only a 56 bedded single-storeyed facility. It housed all the modern facilities right from inception, including a bacteriological laboratory. A new floor was added to the top of the existing structure, in sometime between 1900-07.

Over the years, the campus of the hospital was expanded on account of the increasing needs of the State. Thus, other buildings such as the Sayajirao Military Hospital in the mid-1880s and the new State General Hospital in 1917 came up, on the campus. With the establishment of this new Hospital, the Dufferin Hospital became fully reserved for the care of females and children. With the rising number of staff, a Doctor’s Bungalow and a Head Nurse’s Bungalow were also established.

In 1896 a nursing college was established on its premises. This nursing college ultimately became the base for today’s Medical College of Baroda affiliated with The Maharaja Sayajirao University.

Unfortunately, sometime ago a few buildings including the new State General Hospital, the Doctor’s Bungalow and the Nurse’s bungalow were demolished by the authorities.

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The hospital is currently known as the Sir Sayajirao General Hospital and refers to a huge campus with different wards and facilities. It caters to the primary health care needs of the people of Gujarat and that of the adjoining states of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

After more than a century of its inception, the hospital has become a household name in the region. Through its journey to becoming a 1250 bedded facility, it also paved the way for the growth of a princely State to become a district in modern India, that uplifts the lives of the regional population.