The Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji Free Dispensary was inaugurated in August 2006. It is located in the complex of the Bauli Sahib Gurdwara (Sikh Temple) in the village Goindwal Sahib (around 45km from Amritsar), one of the main Sikh pilgrim centres in Punjab. The dispensary provides free first aid and basic medical care to those visiting from all over India and abroad, as well as local residents.
Doctors and pharmacists run the dispensary seven days a week. All salaries, equipment and medicines are provided by ASR. Between 100 and 200 people are seen every day, many of whom come from villages several kilometres away. Around 300 attend on Sundays and Pooranmashi (full moon), when there are more visitors to the Gurdwara.
In September each year a ‘mela’ (festival) is held in Goindwal Sahib. On this occasion the dispensary remains open 24 hours a day for several days, on which thousands of patients are seen. This was also the location of one of ASR’s multispeciality camps in December 2008, and then again in April 2011.
The laboratory provides blood and urine testing facilities for the dispensary and other clinicians in the area, enhancing patient care.
In November 2019, the dispensary saw its 700,000th patient. It has continued to run with social distancing and safety precautions, after reopening in June 2020. All the staff are fully vaccinated.
