Dr. T. Beaumont (1864 - 1881)

In 1864, the outdoor patients attendance in the Indore Charitable Hospital was about 2500 annually and 18 major operations were performed in the entire year. Dr. Beaumont's devotion, zeal  and humanitarian attitude soon brought major structural and functional changes in the Indore Charitable Hospital.

in 1865,  Dr. Beaumont performed the first cataract surgery on scientific lines at the Indore Charitable Hospital. It is indeed an interesting fact that from this time to 1881 when he retired Dr. Beaumont did all eye operations under General Anaesthesia using chloroform as an anesthetic agent.

Little must have Dr. Beaumont realised the tremendous impact his eye surgery was to have in the forth coming years. The remarks in the Central India Agency Reports of 1868 depict the status of Dr. Beaumont and were indicative of the stature he was to achieve "People travel long distance to consult  Dr. Beaumont whose skill and kindness are proverbial. In operation of eye, he has been very successful." In this very year, separate huts were erected for cases of infection and contagious diseases.

In 1871 another ward ward was constructed to accommodate 18 patients. The Raja of Dhar donated Rs. 1000/- to construct five substantial little houses for respectable persons or femaies.

Such was the impact of Dr. Beaumont's personality and surgery that the Raja of Dhar became his unequivocal admirer and granted funds to build a separate hospital for lepers adjacent to Indore Charitable Hospital.

Dr. Beaumont was not only an Ophthalmic Surgeon but also an excellent General Surgeon in addition to being an equally good physician. His observation on phagedenic ulcers, fevers and leprosy speak of the incisive innate intelligency which he possessed. His devotion to medical science and the nobility of his character are clearly depicted when we go through his report when he was plaued by the not so good results of amputations. " The results of the operation of the year were successful and might easily have made them much more so by simply avoiding to operate in a few desperate cases which gave the greater number of deaths, but I consider it my duty, to operate in all cases if the patient wishes it, when there is a possibility of saving life, which if left alone, must necessarily be lost."

An epidemic resulted in a sudden influx of a large number of patients in 1872. For this a large grass shed and "chhappar" were erected which served as a permanent wards for a couple of years. A male and female waiting room, dispensary room, prescribing room, which also served as an operation room were constructed and the large grass shed no longer required, was knocked down.

 In 1875, 10 lithotomies were successfully performed and 3 obstetric operations were performed in Indore for the first time. In 1879, 20 single roomed houses were constructed with small a cooking place in each.

Plastic Surgery was also successfully carried out. In the words of Dr. Beaumont "Last year I operated on a bunniah for a very unsinghtly harelip. The lip united so evenly and perfectly as to have scarcely a trace of the operation. The man was so delighted that he has become quite an impassioned of plastic surgery, seizing villagers with harelips in the market places and hauling them to the Hospital.

Dr. Beaumont had advocated a pupil, Ganpat Singh, in the Indore Charitable Hospital. Pleased with his work he sent him to the sub-assistant surgeons classes for two years and he acquired a well grounded knowledge of the profession.

In 1878, Dr. Beaumont establised the first Medical School in Central India enrolling four native students Gopal Purrusram, Gopal Bajee Rao, Assadyar Khan, and Atmaram Raghoba, This School in the next century was rechristened "The King Edward Medical School" and finally blossomed into the authors' Alma  Mater, the "Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College" a glorious heritage indeed !

Dr. Ganpat singh worked in the capacity of an Assistant Superintendent was an excellent teacher in the Medical School and a skilled surgeon of no mean repute.

Prof. Lister's antiseptic methods of treatment of wounds was introduced in the Hospital in 1880 and in 1881, 70 large abscesses were treated by this method with good results.