Noble Clinic closed
Delzad Doctor's edited rejoinder to the allegation made against him
regarding the Dr Nelly Noble Medical Centre (see Noble Clinic closed February
21, 2025).
I was quite surprised to
see a letter signed by Ervad Cyrus Dastoor and his committee members floating
around community WhatsApp groups. Baseless allegations have been made against
me. Unfortunately, I am being victimized because I complained to the Bombay
Parsi Punchayet (BPP) in regard to the mismanagement of the Nelly Noble Medical
Centre by the Khareghat Colony Youth Association Trust Funds (KYCATF).
"In a post
on Facebook by Parsianait has been alleged that I stormed out of the clinic and threatened to have people removed
and involvedformer BPP chairman Dinshaw
Mehta. However, I hardly know Mehta and have only heard of him through the
community. In fact, when KCYATF cornered me one day regarding the allegations Imadeagainst them, I contacted all the BPP trustees to inform them of the situation.
I had no involvement in any issues between Mehta and Dastoor (Mehta
allegedly slapped Dastoor).
"The
clinic’s facilities were poorly maintained, with toilets and basins rarely
cleaned. We always kept the areas tidy, but were not allowed near the pantry
and were instead forced to sit near the toilets. On several occasions, we were
forced to wash our plates in the toilet basin because access to the pantry
basin was restricted.
"Despite
these issues, we rarely stayed past working hours, only accommodating patients
who came late from work. I had requested extra time on certain days, but this
was also denied. I had prepared an agreement that they promised to sign but
never did.. I only escalated the issue due to continuous harassment.
If KCYATF had any complaints about me, they could have approached the BPP, but
they never did.
"When I first met Dastoor he quoted a
fee of Rs 20,000 for three days a week, two hours per day. I immediately
expressed my concern that this was exorbitant and unreasonable. Doing the math,
if I operated my clinic from Monday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., the cost
would skyrocket to Rs 1,60,000, something I would never have agreed to. From
day one we had agreed that I could operate the clinic six days a week,
depending on the appointments scheduled.
However, without warning, they
introduced a new demand --Rs 350 per Khareghat Colony resident, which later increased to Rs 500. They
claimed they would provide receipts for these payments, but despite my
requests, they never did. I paid the fixed Rs 20,000 rent via cheque, but the
additional payments were always in cash.
"Furthermore,
they never allocated a dedicated space for my practice, often giving preference
to older doctors. Despite my greater contribution to the clinic, my patients
were frequently asked to move to a makeshift setup at the back. Everything was
fine when they were getting their dues and things went their way, but the
moment I raised these issues with the BPP, they felt the need to justify their
behavior.
