This refers to the editorial published in The Hindu on 17th January 2009 titled REDUCING RISKS OF SURGERY. It brings to our attention to wanton negligence while preparing an operation theater before a surgery. It elaborates that if stringent procedures were adhered to for pre-surgery arrangements, debility rate and mortality rate (in more simple terms, hospital deaths) can beremarkably reduced. I personally know some incidences where patients got killed in hospital by utter negligence on the part of the docs. Very recently, an expecting mother who got admitted into a Salem hospital eventually succumbed because of ‘suspected infections’ she had contracted during her stay in surgical theater. Her bereaving husband is valiantly fighting for justice and compensation and knowing our judiciary works, I could only pity the man.
Of all the professions, it is the medical profession that needs to conform to the highest standards of ‘professional ethics’ as any lapse in it means either permanent debility or mortality to the person who, in all innocence, hands him over to the mercy of the doc. But the standard of ethics in the profession in India is appalling and nobody would have a second opinion on this. Why have the standards have fallen so abysmally low? Doctors who have direct bearing on the future of the person who is handed over to them seldom care for him with a genuine heart and for them, he is only a revenue outlet and they try to manipulate his person to make the most in terms of revenue. Can we get rid of this malaise? What could be the possible remedy? One plausible way out of this tunnel appears to be nationalization of medical education in the country. No private party should be allowed to run a medical institution of whatsoever kind.
At present, saving few government run under-equipped medical colleges, most of the medical colleges are under private interests and the rich and super rich alone have access to the medical studies in our country. Having spent around half a crore and five to eight years, a fresh medico comes of out of his college – ready to hunt down as many preys as possible in the shortest possible time to earn back what he had to give to the owner of his college. As he is in his blood-thirsty prowl, any innocent victim caught in his cage (read ‘hospital’) is torn into pieces and milked to no end. Getting lashed down by all the myopic medical jargons deftly deployed by the doc, the relatives of the unfortunate (read ‘patients’) run from pillar to the post to manage the astronomical sum the doc quoted very imaginatively and by the time the ‘unfortunate’ comes out of the hospital either alive or dead, his family would have spent its last paisa and lost all its future prospects.
A couple of years back, the Union Health Minister Dr.Anbumani proposed a plan of compulsory rural service by fresh medicos coming out of government medical colleges. This was even implemented, though partly. But medics opposed it so vehemently that its future lays uncertain. Dr.Anbumani is very correct in saying that the medical graduates who have undergone expensive education at the cost of public exchequer has moral obligation towards the public – more so towards to the underprivileged in our society. But the medicos are not inclined to give back to the society what it had given them. This is not a surprise considering our plummeting moral standards. Why should we single out medicos alone? We single out medicos alone possibly because of the reason that government does not spend so much on any other category of students.
Coming back to the issue of nationalization of medical education in the entire country, it will certainly be opposed by those barons in the industry who run ‘the best’ of hospitals for ‘the best of the milieu’. There should not be a second thought in bringing the entire medical industry under the direct purview of the state and so far as medical education is concerned, no private medical college should be allowed in operate in the land. MERIT should be the only gateway into these colleges though ‘social justice’ can still be done using the existing reservation formula. When medical education is provided absolutely free of cost to the deserving and the meritorious, they can be made to serve in the rural and the remote areas at least in the initial phase of their career.
Healthcare and education are two very issues a country like ours cannot afford to fiddle with. It is not the capitalistic states like USA or Canada who have accomplished medical care to all the sections of the society but it is the socialistic countries like Cuba and Venezuela who have taken medical care to the most downtrodden and underprivileged. In fact, doctor-patient ratio in Cuba is unarguably the best in the world and this enviable state is attributed to the nationalization of medical education there. There have been some positive inroads in recent times to bring a sense of social obligation from medics in India. Having brought them under the nose of Consumer Act is definitely one among them. But it is too little where too much needs to be done on war footing. Bringing elements of ‘accountability’ into their profession would make a world of good –to the docs and their clients as well. All said, I know this is my wishful thinking. India Inc. will not allow any of these happen within its jurisdiction.
“Manmohanomics” is obsessed with making the rich richer and the poor poorer. Manmohans and Chidambarams are too busy in churning out more Ramalingam Rajus and the ailing poor man wailing desperately for his life in the filthiest state-run hospital corridors does not feature in their blue print of INDIA SHINING. Long live India!!
Of all the professions, it is the medical profession that needs to conform to the highest standards of ‘professional ethics’ as any lapse in it means either permanent debility or mortality to the person who, in all innocence, hands him over to the mercy of the doc. But the standard of ethics in the profession in India is appalling and nobody would have a second opinion on this. Why have the standards have fallen so abysmally low? Doctors who have direct bearing on the future of the person who is handed over to them seldom care for him with a genuine heart and for them, he is only a revenue outlet and they try to manipulate his person to make the most in terms of revenue. Can we get rid of this malaise? What could be the possible remedy? One plausible way out of this tunnel appears to be nationalization of medical education in the country. No private party should be allowed to run a medical institution of whatsoever kind.
At present, saving few government run under-equipped medical colleges, most of the medical colleges are under private interests and the rich and super rich alone have access to the medical studies in our country. Having spent around half a crore and five to eight years, a fresh medico comes of out of his college – ready to hunt down as many preys as possible in the shortest possible time to earn back what he had to give to the owner of his college. As he is in his blood-thirsty prowl, any innocent victim caught in his cage (read ‘hospital’) is torn into pieces and milked to no end. Getting lashed down by all the myopic medical jargons deftly deployed by the doc, the relatives of the unfortunate (read ‘patients’) run from pillar to the post to manage the astronomical sum the doc quoted very imaginatively and by the time the ‘unfortunate’ comes out of the hospital either alive or dead, his family would have spent its last paisa and lost all its future prospects.
A couple of years back, the Union Health Minister Dr.Anbumani proposed a plan of compulsory rural service by fresh medicos coming out of government medical colleges. This was even implemented, though partly. But medics opposed it so vehemently that its future lays uncertain. Dr.Anbumani is very correct in saying that the medical graduates who have undergone expensive education at the cost of public exchequer has moral obligation towards the public – more so towards to the underprivileged in our society. But the medicos are not inclined to give back to the society what it had given them. This is not a surprise considering our plummeting moral standards. Why should we single out medicos alone? We single out medicos alone possibly because of the reason that government does not spend so much on any other category of students.
Coming back to the issue of nationalization of medical education in the entire country, it will certainly be opposed by those barons in the industry who run ‘the best’ of hospitals for ‘the best of the milieu’. There should not be a second thought in bringing the entire medical industry under the direct purview of the state and so far as medical education is concerned, no private medical college should be allowed in operate in the land. MERIT should be the only gateway into these colleges though ‘social justice’ can still be done using the existing reservation formula. When medical education is provided absolutely free of cost to the deserving and the meritorious, they can be made to serve in the rural and the remote areas at least in the initial phase of their career.
Healthcare and education are two very issues a country like ours cannot afford to fiddle with. It is not the capitalistic states like USA or Canada who have accomplished medical care to all the sections of the society but it is the socialistic countries like Cuba and Venezuela who have taken medical care to the most downtrodden and underprivileged. In fact, doctor-patient ratio in Cuba is unarguably the best in the world and this enviable state is attributed to the nationalization of medical education there. There have been some positive inroads in recent times to bring a sense of social obligation from medics in India. Having brought them under the nose of Consumer Act is definitely one among them. But it is too little where too much needs to be done on war footing. Bringing elements of ‘accountability’ into their profession would make a world of good –to the docs and their clients as well. All said, I know this is my wishful thinking. India Inc. will not allow any of these happen within its jurisdiction.
“Manmohanomics” is obsessed with making the rich richer and the poor poorer. Manmohans and Chidambarams are too busy in churning out more Ramalingam Rajus and the ailing poor man wailing desperately for his life in the filthiest state-run hospital corridors does not feature in their blue print of INDIA SHINING. Long live India!!
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