RTH-AGITATION-A Cry for Survival-Smaller hospitals need support

$#RTH-AGITATION- Rajasthan - Sadly doctors are fighting for their genuine rights and dignity against all. No one is with them - media, judiciary, Government and not even patients whom they have saved. Aspiring doctors should know the reality and introspect- why they wish to be a doctors in such circumstances? Smaller hospital and individual doctors' clinics are backbone of the health care system in India. Their contribution towards public health can’t be ignored. Be it Covid care or treatment of daily ailments, they are actually helpful to the public and indispensable in real sense. Their contribution to society is huge especially in view of broken public health care system. They provide health care near to public near their residential area at affordable cost. From an another angle, they generate employment to the workers as well as small businesses associated with their small hospitals. In a populous country like India, strengthening these smaller hospital is a desirable step. To strengthen the health care, Government can actually do well to support these hospitals and achieve health care to all. Supporting them will require a fraction of resources, as compared to the money needed in case Govt has to provide to public itself. It will be a short-sightedness of the Government policies, if instead of supporting them, Govt wishes to exploit their resources to give free health care to public.$

#RTH-AGITATION- Rajasthan – Sadly doctors are fighting for their genuine rights and dignity against all. No one is with them – media, judiciary, Government and not even patients whom they have saved.

Aspiring doctors should know the reality and introspect- why they wish to be a doctors in such circumstances?

Smaller hospital and individual doctors’ clinics are backbone of the health care system in India. Their contribution towards public health can’t be ignored. Be it Covid care or treatment of daily ailments, they are actually helpful to the public and indispensable in real sense. Their contribution to society is huge especially in view of broken public health care system.

They provide health care near to public near their residential area at affordable cost. From an another angle, they generate employment to the workers as well as small businesses associated with their small hospitals.

In a populous country like India, strengthening these smaller hospital is a desirable step. To strengthen the health care, Government can actually do well to support these hospitals and achieve health care to all. Supporting them will require a fraction of resources, as compared to the money needed in case Govt has to provide to public itself.

It will be a short-sightedness of the Government policies, if instead of supporting them, Govt wishes to exploit their resources to give free health care to public.

But administrators and bureaucratic system has failed on both fronts. Neither they were able to develop a dependable health care system for public, nor they tried to support smaller health systems. What they tried to do was akin to the ancient story of ‘ the farmer and the Golden goose’. The Greedy farmer wanted all the golden eggs instantly without feeding the bird and therefore killed the duck. Government with its short-sighted bureaucracy is killing its golden health care and not realizing the real potential and benefits.

In the present day, ebbed from all sides, doctors need to earn back the dignity of profession and resist oppression. The phenomenon of oppression of doctors in the name of regulation is a global issue. The populist oppressive schemes in the misleading names like #RTH-Rajasthan (RIGHT TO HEALTH) are prevalent everywhere globally in some form or another. Doctors and nurses have been reduced to no more than moral and economical slaves either by industry or administrators, not infrequently pulled by legal bridle in their noses.

Will Rajasthan’s Right to health bill do more harm than Good

Acquiring kind of skill , the years of passionate, merciless, excruciating medical learning is placed at the disposal of administrators, who themselves have failed to develop a good health care system in real sense.

#NO-TO-RTH-AGITATION is a movement , the result of failure of Government to create public health system, but it has potential to fail the existing private doctors’ system as well. Smaller hospitals are already on verge of closure, will be forced to shut down. It carries the risk of extinction of neighbourhood friendly doctor and hospitals.

The basic problem is the intentions for the task of developing a good health care system. The agenda of administration is to control the health care workers rather than developing a good health care system for citizens.

What NO-TO-RTH-AGITATION is actually doing? It is a cry for survival of the smaller hospitals- not only for themselves but for Indian Health care system, if short-sighted bureaucracy can understand the real problem.

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March 27, 2023 1

Struggle for professional independence: #RTH-Rajasthan doctors are global leaders

In the present era, Doctors are ebbed from all sides, need to earn back the dignity of profession and resist oppression. The phenomenon of oppression in the name of medical- regulation is a global issue. The oppressive schemes in the misleading names like #RTH Rajasthan (RIGHT TO HEALTH) are prevalent everywhere globally in some form or another.

Doctors and nurses have been reduced to no more than moral and economical slaves either by industry or administrators, not infrequently pulled by legal bridle in their noses.

Doctors in Rajasthan India have shown first of its kind revolt, that is just waiting to happen globally at some stage.

Will Rajasthan’s Right to health bill do more harm than Good?

It is not easy to practice as doctor these days. Media full of doctors bashing, credibility crisis and regulators perpetually hounding doctors, who are forced to work under imposed medico-legal sword. There is no day that passes when system does not perpetuate negativity against medical profession.

By certain laws and Acts like RTH, an effort is on to place medicine under State control. Acquiring kind of skill , the years of passionate, merciless excruciating medical learning is placed at the disposal of administrators, who themselves have already failed to develop a good health care system in real sense.

Doctors have become soft targets for populist attention mongering and transforming social nuisance into messiah of the deprived by administrators -by sprouting the fraudulent generalities.

All the calculations that usually precede the enslavement of medicine, everything gets discussed by administrators and industry – except the well-being of the doctors and nurses.

Doctors have often wondered at the smugness with which administrators assert their right to enslave them, to control their work, to force their will, to violate their conscience, to stifle their mind. Irony is that while administrators do this, still they depend on the same doctors for saving lives -whose life they have throttled, who resent the treatment meted out to the health care workers. Like the failed medical system, administrators have failed to realize that all the negativity perpetuated against doctors, who are working with the burden of mistrust under medico-legal sword is going to make them less safe.

Administrators, who have never treated a patient in their lifetimes, not only try to control treatment of thousands of patients, but project themselves messiah by demonizing doctors. Lowly educated celebrities and administrators have found a new easy way to project themselves on higher pedestrian by publicly insulting highly educated but vulnerable doctors. The biggest tragedy to the medical profession in the present era is the new fad of administrators to discourage and demonize the medical profession for their popularity gains.
Being so distant from the ground reality, their role should not have been more than facilitators, but they have become medical administrators. To control the health system, administrators have a tendency to pretend that shortcomings in the patient care can be rectified by punishing the doctors and nurses.

Slow or acute revolt is long due. Doctors have only two ways- either to persist, fight or perish. Silently quitting their beloved profession is going on for some time all over the world. Even in developed countries, there has been a fading enthusiasm to be a doctor. But doctors of Rajasthan have shown the way. The way to persist and resist the indignity handed over to medical profession. The have shown that the struggle was not that difficult that it looked to be. They have chosen the correct path of struggle for Independence (Professional). That makes them global leaders without any doubt.

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March 25, 2023 0

Two siblings mauled by stray dogs in Delhi; An urban jungle-where animals hunt humans

In an horrifying and frightening incident, mauled and hunted two siblings, aged 7 & 5, killed in stray dog attack in Delhi’s Vasant Kunj

NEW DELHI: Two siblings, aged seven and five, were killed allegedly in stray dog attack in two separate incidents in the Vasant Kunj area of Delhi. The police said that the 7-year-old boy went missing on March 10 and his body was recovered later with animal bite like injuries.

They needed some shield to protect himself which society, government, courts and so called “dog-lovers” failed to provide.

4-year-old mauled to death by stray dogs in Amberpet

An urban jungle-where animals hunt humans

Dog Lover but not for human child

Courts have also upheld animal rights but failed to formulate and implement policies to ensure safety of humans from these violent strays. Government has not made out any policy to safeguard public from such attacks nor have courts come up with any solid guidelines, which can save public, children, women and older people from such bites.

Danger of stray dogs is increasing every day around us. As the strays population in increasing, now they are grouped and see vulnerable humans as easy prey. Packs of dogs have become dangerous and difficult to control. Protected by Dog lovers and animal right laws, the danger to normal people of being hunted even around their homes is real. Human right of being in a safe environment is being ignored. Is it not hypocritical that you care for a violent stray that is a threat to the society? Problem is not about loving and feeding dogs, but simultaneous apathy towards safety of humans. Such dog lovers most of the time, totally ignore the fact that these dogs are a threat to children and older people. An immediate sense of hatred towards such dog lovers is a consequence and a natural thought.

Animal lovers while pretending of “dog love” have formed NGOs and have donations and accumulate money. But have failed to create shelters for stray dogs. Neither have any steps been taken to save people from dog bites. So consequently, people especially vulnerable are children and older people who are mauled and eaten alive by stray dogs. What responsibility and accountability these animal lovers and NGO bear towards such incidents? Why people who collect money in name of animals do not take care and form shelters for these strays? every single death from such preventable cause raise a question on this issue.

Apathy of these so called dog lovers towards humans is appalling.

SUGGESTION: the Government, NGOs and people who claim to be “animal lovers” should create shelters to save strays “as well as people”. It should be mandatory that all the dog and animal (stray or pet) droppings are properly collected and disposed off. This single step can do wonders as it will reduce infections, people’s suffering, save lives and eventually reduce use of antibiotics. A rationale mind will definitely appreciate the danger due to strays, and can initiate proper steps rather criticizing above said facts in the name of animal rights. An animal has no sense of responsibility, so rights should be limited accordingly.

Advantages-Disadvantage of being a doctor

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21 occupational risks to doctors and nurses

Covid paradox: salary cut for doctors other paid at home

Medical-Consumer protection Act- Pros and Cons

Expensive Medical College seat- Is it worth it?

NEET- Not so Neat- percentile system

The Myth of cost of spending on medical education needs to be made transparent.

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March 12, 2023 1

Medical Education #NEET & Termite of Corruption, Legalities, Touts

Med admission season sees flood of legal cases Our society has failed itself to develop a robust system of choosing and nurturing good doctors and therefore itself responsible for decline in standards of medical profession. Therefore the quality of doctors who survive and flourish in such system will be a natural consequence of how society chooses and nurtures the best for themselves. A complicated admission process of NEET counselling has spawned a micro industry of medical education counsellors- nothing more than mediators and touts. Imagine, an opportunity is available to a patient, to decide the doctor as based on his route or marks for entry into medical college. Whether patient will like to get treated by a doctor, who secured 20% marks, 30 % marks or 60% marks or 80% marks for medical college. Even an illiterate person can answer that well. But strangely for selection of doctors, rules were framed so as to dilute the merit to the minimum possible. What is the need to dilute and shortlist around half a million for few thousand seats? Answer to that is simple. To select and find only those students from millions, who can pay millions to become doctors?

Our society has failed itself to develop a robust system of choosing and nurturing good doctors and therefore itself responsible for decline in standards of medical profession. Therefore the quality of doctors who survive and flourish in such system will be a natural consequence of how society chooses and nurtures the best for themselves.

A complicated admission process of NEET counselling has spawned a micro industry of medical education counsellors- nothing more than mediators and touts.

Imagine, an opportunity is available to a patient, to decide the doctor as based on his route or marks for entry into medical college. Whether patient will like to get treated by a doctor, who secured 20% marks, 30 % marks or 60% marks or 80% marks for medical college. Even an illiterate person can answer that well. But strangely for selection of doctors, rules were framed so as to dilute the merit to the minimum possible. What is the need to dilute and shortlist around half a million for few thousand seats? Answer to that is simple. To select and find only those students from millions, who can pay millions to become doctors?

Doctors are just as offshoots of a tree called as society. They essentially are the same as rest of the society. It is a specialized branch of tree which helps other offshoots of tree to save others. As part of same tree, they resemble the parent society, of which they are part. Society needs to choose and nurture a force of doctors carefully with an aim to combat for safety of its own people.

Exorbitantly expensive medical education and lowered merit has hollowed the quality of doctors like termite. Aspiring doctors are now forced to pay exorbitant fee, in millions. Many go under heavy debt to pay medical colleges fee. Children with lower ranks in merit pay millions and can become doctors. The real problem here is that real deserving will be left out.

Medical students from the very onset, are victims and witness to these practices and exploitation. They see their parents pay this unreasonable fee through their noses or take loans. Such blatant injustice will have an everlasting effect on the young impressionable minds.

The paradox- Society and armchair preachers give doctors lessons about corruption and exploitation.

Medical admission season sees flood of legal cases

Mumbai TIMES OF INDIA: Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, while speaking at a recent event in a Delhi hospital, called for reforms in medical education, referring to the sheer volume of cases that have made their way to the Supreme Court. It is no exaggeration, as the Directorate of General of Health Services’ Medical Counselling Committee (MCC), under the umbrella body of the union ministry of health and family welfare, alone has to deal with nearly 400 cases every year. From high courts to the apex court, the admission season is marred by litigation, from students aspiring to be doctors to doctors aspiring to be specialists and super-specialists. Sometimes, there are other stakeholders too and the stakes are indeed high. The National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) for undergraduate courses, for instance. In the past four years, the number of MBBS aspirants registering for the test rose almost by 25%. Around 17.6 lakh students appeared for NEET-UG in 2022 —the highest for any competitive exam. On the contrary, the number of aspirants for engineering (registering for JEE-Main) dropped in the corresponding four years—from 11.5 lakh in 2019 to 9.05 lakh in 2022. If one takes into account the direct ratio of students to medical seats, 33 are vying for a single seat in a government college. It is further skewed if one considers the pool of seats in each category. The number of seats shrink at PG level. “The competition is fierce for students in the lower rank bracket. Eligibility issues are also a concern in lawsuits. There is a lot of emphasis on students bagging a PG degree, from parents, even colleges.

More students going for higher studies give colleges brownie points in the accreditation process. There is a general sense of feeling that only an MBBS degree is of no consequence. After all of it, if students lose their seat over a technical point, they will prefer moving court over losing a year, he said. Even as thousands of students appear for their NEET-PG today, courts saw several litigation seeking postponement of the exam till last week. “There is no uniformity in the schedule followed by different states, even as there is one central exam for all. Students have to mandatorily complete their internship to be eligible for a PG seat, but the internship deadline in states differ. What is the point of completing the exam in March and waiting till July for the counselling round? Such policy decisions are not student-friendly, and therefore are met with opposition,” said parent representative. Former member (board of governor), erstwhile Medical Council of India and dean (projects) at Tata Memorial Hospital, Dr Kailash Sharma, said clarity from National Medical Commission, from MCC, government of India, is expected. “Similar cases in lower courts should be bundled and heard by the apex court that will also reduce time on each case,” said Sharma. Meanwhile, a complicated admission process has spawned a micro industry of medical education counsellors. The process is complicated for an 18-year old to manage on his own.

Advantages-Disadvantage of being a doctor

25 factors- why health care is expensive

REEL Heroes Vs Real Heroes

21 occupational risks to doctors and nurses

Covid paradox: salary cut for doctors other paid at home

Medical-Consumer protection Act- Pros and Cons

Expensive Medical College seat- Is it worth it?

NEET- Not so Neat- percentile system

The Myth of cost of spending on medical education needs to be made transparent.

Exorbitantly expensive medical education and lowered merit

March 5, 2023 0

Assault on a Woman Doctor #Kerala: Medics Serving Uncivilized Society with Poor Law & Order

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM- Kerala: The assault on a woman doctor at Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College has made doctors preparing for a career in the medical profession worried. A bystander kicked the woman doctor on her lower abdomen in front of an ICU in the middle of the night on November 23. The CCTV visuals showed that she was surrounded by a group of bystanders.

The physical assault on a lady doctor reflects that doctors are serving an uncivilized society. Such news is viewed by medical community anxiously and is definitely a poor advertisement for younger generation to take medicine as profession.

Strangely media, courts, prominent people, celebrities, human right commission, woman right activists and women commission are little concerned about the blatant injustice done towards doctors. This again brings forth the hypocrisy of these people and organizations, who otherwise cry hoarse about woman rights and empowerment. Whenever a female is assaulted, there is an outrage but the same support is not extended to a female if she is a doctor. Such bestiality should create havoc in minds of civilized people but this apathy to such incidents clearly indicates otherwise. Have we become so uncivilized that an incident such as this just remains as a small news item in a local paper? Can’t we see that such incidents are harbinger of many more in future? It is important to realize that this is the time to unify and condemn such episodes vehemently and prominently so that the miscreants realize that they cannot get away with it.

Brutality against doctors reveals a deep prejudice and lawlessness, merely on the basis of perceived negligence. Government is either unwilling to act and establish a strong culture of deterrence, so justice been elusive for medical professionals.

Even murderous assaults on doctors are not enough to shake administrators, courts and doctors’ organizations out of slumber. Definitely such violence, if unabated will be poor advertisement for next generation to take medical profession as a first choice.

Media and celebrities have proudly projected in films and television that doctors can be beaten and assaulted, in case there are unexpected results or in case of dissatisfaction. The “Reel Heroes” depicting violence against the doctor is seen as a routine and looked as an easily do-able- adventure due to unwillingness of Government to take stringent action. As patients will continue to get treatment in hospitals and few cannot be saved, so every death declaration may be a harbinger to such attacks in future.

A notion has been propagated that assaulting a doctor under emotional outburst to be taken as normal and should not be punished.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The assault on a woman doctor at Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College has made doctors preparing for a career in the medical profession worried. A bystander kicked the woman doctor on her lower abdomen in front of an ICU in the middle of the night on November 23. The CCTV visuals showed that she was surrounded by a group of bystanders. She survived the attack and is recuperating. But the incident has left her shattered. “I am reconsidering my decision to become a neurosurgeon and even the career of a doctor,” she told Sulphi N, IMA state president, when he visited her in the hospital.The Kerala Medical Post Graduate Association has taken up her cause and demanded justice.

They are worried that such attacks would happen again and there would be a new victim. “It is unnerving that such attacks happen in medical colleges which are supposed to be a secure location. What will happen to us if we go to peripheral hospitals for practice,” said Dr Ruwise E A, Thiruvananthapuram unit president of Kerala Medical Post Graduate Association.He came to know from police officers that an arrest was unlikely on Friday and the accused was trying to secure bail. “The government should have arrested the culprit immediately and sent a message to the public that such attacks are not tolerated,” said Dr Ruwise.KMPGA plans to strengthen the strike if there is no arrest till Sunday. The doctors association has extended support to the protest by residents. “We cannot leave the students alone on this issue. It was an assault on a woman who was doing her duty. If it was a senior doctor who received such a kick on the lower abdomen he or she would not have survived the attack,” said Dr Nirmal Bhaskar, state president of Kerala Government Medical College Teachers Association (KGMCTA).The doctors share their angst as there was not enough support from government and society even when the attacks keep repeating. They did not take the Facebook post by Health Minister Veena George condemning the attack seriously.There are health experts who think that a multi-pronged approach is necessary to prevent such attacks. It involves reducing the crowd by strengthening peripheral hospitals, increasing staff and providing better security.“The government health system has become an easy target nowadays. Such attacks do not happen in private hospitals where bystanders pay the remaining hospital bills without uttering a word of protest even after the patient could not be rescued,” said Dr Althaf A, secretary of IMA, Thiruvananthapuram branch. He pointed out that there are no trained administrative cadres to manage a 4,000-bed MCH. All of this is managed by a superintendent who is also a professor with teaching responsibilities.

Advantages-Disadvantage of being a doctor

25 factors- why health care is expensive

REEL Heroes Vs Real Heroes

21 occupational risks to doctors and nurses

Covid paradox: salary cut for doctors other paid at home

Medical-Consumer protection Act- Pros and Cons

Expensive Medical College seat- Is it worth it?

NEET- Not so Neat- percentile system

The Myth of cost of spending on medical education needs to be made transparent.

November 27, 2022 2

Treating human frailty & hence the vulnerability-Exploitation of Doctors & Nurses

Treating emergencies has become akin to catching a falling knife. There is eternal latent vulnerability that is intrinsic in the way doctors’ work, which turns more evil when exploited by many in the society for the vested benefit- ‘media and celebrities’ to sell their news and shows, by ‘law industry’ and ‘industry’s middlemen’. Whenever there is an anecdotal episode of adverse event or poor prognosis in hospitals, it is aired by media as an illustration to portray whole medical professionals as dystopian community. By theatrically deriding hard work of doctors, the celebrities grabbed eyeballs to be at the centre stage of health care. What remained invisible to all is the fact that every day in hospitals, thousands of lives are salvaged back from the brink of death. The real hidden agenda is an attempt to project ‘Reel heroes’ as ‘Real heroes’. By self-appointing themselves as custodian of health of masses, ’the film stars’ and celebrities give true meaning to their work of ‘Acting’, that otherwise was no more than a trifling entertainment. When masses worship them as their true well-wishers, they feature in advertisements to sell tobacco, soft drinks, junk foods and other sweet poisons to public and children. The intentional unfairness of the criticism is evident, since the delineation of the cleft that separates doctors from the actual overpowering and controlling health industry is not unveiled, ensuring to sustain the prejudice with its dangerous bias towards health care workers.

From the book ‘at the Horizon of Life & death’

Treating emergencies and critical patients has become akin to catching a falling knife. There is eternal latent vulnerability that is intrinsic in the way doctors’ work, which turns more evil when exploited by many in the society for the vested benefit- ‘media and celebrities’ to sell their news and shows, by ‘law industry’ and ‘industry’s middlemen’.

Whenever there is an anecdotal episode of adverse event or poor prognosis in hospitals, it is aired by media as an illustration to portray whole medical professionals as dystopian community. By theatrically deriding hard work of doctors, the celebrities grabbed eyeballs to be at the centre stage of health care. What remained invisible to all is the fact that every day in hospitals, thousands of lives are salvaged back from the brink of death.

The real hidden agenda is an attempt to project ‘Reel heroes’ as ‘Real heroes’. By self-appointing themselves as custodian of health of masses, ’the film stars’ and celebrities give true meaning to their work of ‘Acting’, that otherwise was no more than a trifling entertainment. When masses worship them as their true well-wishers, they feature in advertisements to sell tobacco, soft drinks, junk foods and other sweet poisons to public and children.

The intentional unfairness of the criticism is evident, since the delineation of the cleft that separates doctors from the actual overpowering and controlling health industry is not unveiled, ensuring to sustain the prejudice with its dangerous bias towards health care workers.

There is gradual transition of doctor-patient interaction to a business transaction. The pharmaceutical industry, insurance, law industry and administrative machinery remain hidden in the background and have enormously benefitted by the exploitation of doctors and nurses, who have suffered at the front as the face of the ‘veiled and invisible’ colossal medical business.

The evolving system of corporatization and medicine being projected as a purchasable commodity has resulted in an illogical distribution of health care. The resources spent by people in last few days of life, mostly in a futile quest to have few more, are equivalent to thousands of times the food and medicine for the poor, who lose lives for fraction of that expense. Since in this era, medical therapies are perceived as purchasable and patient has become a consumer.

There is persistent fear of getting a raw deal amidst tricks and traits of the law industry, if any doctor has to face a malpractice lawsuit. A brilliant mind gets entangled in a useless clutter and gets engulfed by a strange fear for the imminent misfortune. Just because of an unexpected poor outcome, randomness of the tragic tale imposed on the doctor is difficult to fathom. With element of arbitrariness involved in the medicolegal suits, law industry has got benefitted enormously at the cost of medical profession.

But these utterances against the medical community are not without serious side effects and results in deteriorating doctor-patient relationship. Mistrust resulted in loss of respect for doctors and predisposed them to all types of violence- be it verbal, physical, legal or financial, as if uncountable lives saved every moment in hospitals were of no consequence.

The blame for deficiencies of inept system and poor outcomes of serious diseases was shifted conveniently to doctors, who were unable to retaliate to the powerful media.

Not only such projections shifted and pinpointed the attention to inappropriate issues, but created an unbridgeable gap of trust between doctor and patients. The fear provoked in the patients’ minds would scare patients to seek help from doctors, who they should be trusting.

The sense of gratitude, which doctors deserved from patients, was replaced by the burden of blame. Even a saved life was thought off merely as a duty fulfilled in lieu of some remuneration.

Consequently, more of doctors’ time is being spent on issues, which are assumed to be worrisome but are not, and less time is spent on the issues that really count.

To control the health system, administrators or even legal systems have a tendency to assume that shortcomings in the patient care can be rectified by punishing the doctors and nurses. For doctors, no gain if they succeed thousand times, but agony assured if they fail once?

Advantages-Disadvantage of being a doctor

25 factors- why health care is expensive

REEL Heroes Vs Real Heroes

21 occupational risks to doctors and nurses

Covid paradox: salary cut for doctors other paid at home

Medical-Consumer protection Act- Pros and Cons

Expensive Medical College seat- Is it worth it?

NEET- Not so Neat- percentile system

The Myth of cost of spending on medical education needs to be made transparent.

November 17, 2022 0

A Child is Born Free till he chooses to be Doctor # Rohtak-Medicos-fight-Unjust-Bonds

Choosing medical career or being a doctor has become a struggle in present era. Aspiring doctors need to first think- why they want to be a doctor in such circumstances-enduring all kind of exploitation- from all corners of society?

Unable to give doctors their rightful, there has been an administrators’ wish to enslave medical profession. Arm chair preachers would just say “yes, as a doctor, they should do it as moral duty.” In a new era of consumerism, when patient is defined as consumer and medical industry controls medical profession and the financial boundaries. All components of medical industry want their pound of flesh from hard work of doctors and nurses. Every day routine issues turning into medico-legal hassles have put doctors in the corner, resulting in severe distraction from real point of intention-treatment of patients.

Struggling to get admission in medical college, slogging in wards to learn and earn degrees, work in inhuman conditions, listen to endless abuses, tolerate the false media criticism, dragged in courts for alleged negligence, work with fear of physical assaults, work without proper infrastructure and manpower, endangering their own lives, exploited by medical industry and administrators, poorly paid and still not respected.

The Myth of cost of spending on medical education needs to be made transparent.

MBBS medical students protest against Haryana Govt Bond Policy-Rohtak

Educating a doctor cost less what medical colleges claim- a global phenomenon.

Instead of often repeated statements about high expense on running medical college and projecting it as a hard fact, the amount spent on medical students by all medical colleges should be made transparent by all institutions. The frequent statement is made that cost of making a doctor is very high and gleefully propagated by the private medical colleges to extract millions out of young medical students .

Such statements without any actual public data is repeated to the extent that it is firmly entrenched in public mind without any real evidence.

Projection of high cost of making a doctor is the reason with an intention to exploit the young doctors in various ways to get cheap labour and extract millions from aspiring doctors by medical colleges.

MBBS medical students protest against Haryana Govt Bond Policy-Rohtak

MBBS medical students protest against Haryana Govt bond policy detained

In a crackdown on MBBS students protesting against Haryana government’s bond policy for government medical colleges, the Rohtak Police detained around 300 students in the early hours of Saturday and registered a First Information Report in this connection.

The police action came ahead of the visit of Governor, Chief Minister and Home Minister to PGI campus for the convocation of Pt. Bhagwat Dayal Sharma University of Health Sciences, Rohtak.

He added that the students were now co-operating with the administration and a meeting was being facilitated between them and the Chief Minister soon after the convocation.

The Haryana government had come out with a policy to incentivise doctors to opt for government service in the State on November 6, 2020, saying that the candidates selected for MBBS degree course in government medical colleges need to execute an annual bond for ₹10 lakh minus the fee at the start of every academic year. The candidate can pay the entire bond amount without recourse to the loan or the State government will facilitate them for availing an education loan for this bond amount. As per the policy, the government will repay the annual instalments of the loan if the candidate obtains employment with the State government.

However, in view of the protests, the CM had three days ago announced that students need not pay the ₹10 lakh bond amount at the time of admission, but instead have to sign a bond-cum-loan agreement of the amount with the college and the bank.

Advantages-Disadvantage of being a doctor

25 factors- why health care is expensive

REEL Heroes Vs Real Heroes

21 occupational risks to doctors and nurses

Covid paradox: salary cut for doctors other paid at home

Medical-Consumer protection Act- Pros and Cons

Expensive Medical College seat- Is it worth it?

NEET- Not so Neat- percentile system

The Myth of cost of spending on medical education needs to be made transparent.

November 6, 2022 0

A Central Law Needed for Violence against Doctors: IMA to NMC

Medical professionals often face a trade-off between the Hippocrates Oath that they take and the necessity of their own well-being.

Unfortunately, abusive and violent behaviour by patients or relatives or those accompanying patients has become one of the attendant risks of the medical profession. It is no surprise then that the medical fraternity has once again called upon the government to enact stringent laws and their proper implementation to curtail this kind of behaviour with the National Medical Commission (NMC) proposing that registered medical practitioners (RMPs) refuse to take on such cases.

The NMC (which replaced the Medical Council of India) is a body that regulates medical education and professionals.

The NMC’s Ethics and Medical Registration Board has issued draft regulations inviting comments from the public, experts, stakeholders and organisations on “National Medical Commission, Registered Medical Practitioner (Professional Conduct) Regulations 2022”.

Comments and suggestions on the draft proposal can be sent by June 22.

A Central Law Needed for violence against doctors: IMA to NMC

“In case of abusive, unruly, and violent patients or relatives, the RMP can document and report the behaviour and refuse to treat the patient. Such patients should be referred for further treatment elsewhere,” the draft proposal says.

“If a change of RMP is needed (for example, the patient needs a procedure done by another RMP), consent should be obtained from the patient himself or the guardian. The RMP who attends to the patient will be fully accountable for his actions and entitled to the appropriate fees,” it added.

Medical professionals often face a trade-off between the Hippocrates Oath that they take and the necessity of their own well-being. Sahajanand Prasad Singh, president, Indian Medical Association (IMA, a panel that represents doctors and their interests), said a doctor would be ethically wrong if he or she refuses treatment to someone in need. So the need of the hour is to have a central law to check such untoward incidents, said Dr Singh.

“The government passed an Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Act in 2020 which provided acts of violence against healthcare personnel during any situation akin to current pandemic to be cognizable and nonbailable offences. This law should remain in force forever. If the NMC wants the welfare of doctors, they should work in that direction,” he added.

“The commission or abetment of such acts of violence shall be punished with imprisonment for a term of three months to five years, and with fine of Rs 50,000 to Rs 2,00,000,” says the Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Act, 2020.

Former IMA president Rajan Sharma, who led a nationwide protest condemning violence against doctors in India, said without a Union home ministry law against attacks on doctors, these proposals would do very little to prevent incidents against healthcare workers.

“There has to be strong laws to deal with the rising cases of violence. The regulations made by NMC should be in tandem with the stringent laws from the Union home ministry,” Dr Sharma said.

On his part, IMA general secretary Jayesh Lele, “It’s only a draft regulation, we are going to submit our important observations to the NMC.”

Anuj Aggarwal, general secretary, Federation of Resident Doctors Association of India, said the RMP Professional Conduct Guidelines offers some breather for resident doctors but has some way to go.

“The guidelines give rightful exceptions to patients with life-threatening conditions, which is justified. However, it is important to consider that most of the events in which a patient’s attendants turn violent are when the patient is very critically ill. So this proposal has no role to play in the majority of such scenarios,” he said.

Dr Aggarwal said that while it is a welcome step to curb the issue of rising violence against doctors, a central law would be a better and more effective deterrent.

The government did propose a central protection act and a draft was put in the public domain in 2019 for feedback but it was put on the back burner.

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May 30, 2022 0

CJI Ramana’s Concern about Violence against Doctors: too Mild a Remedy, Need Concrete Action

While violence against doctors should be a concern to everyone, more so for the public, but sadly everyone in society has preferred to take advantage and reap benefit of the situation at the cost of doctors. Government has remained more or less indifferent, whereas people don’t have minimum basic health amenities and doctors have become punching bags for inept health system. Law industry has been enormously benefited financially due to medico-legal cases against doctors. Media and celebrities have sold their shows and news items not by good ground work, but by sensationalizing and mischaracterizing the real basic issues, airing one single incident as generalizations. An atmosphere of mistrust has been generated against medical profession. Administrators and Industry have put themselves on higher pedestrian by selectively projecting the genuine failures and mistakes of doctors. Local goons have blackmailed doctors over genuine complications and the natural deaths occurring in hospitals. There is a little token action by police after routine incident of violence against doctors. Consequently medical business has thrived whereas medical profession is suffocated and art of medicine has been dying a slow gradual death. Actually public needs to be concerned as the society itself is going to suffer in the long run, not realizing that people themselves are responsible for their health problems and not the doctors.

At this stage, Chief Justice of India N V Ramana on Saturday expressed serious concern over rising violence against upright and hardworking doctors and lodging of false cases against them. The show of concern is nice gesture, as problem is clearly evident to all, but merely expressing a concern at this stage is too mild a remedy. When cancer is in late stages and needs a radical surgery, applying an ointment will not work.

Rising violence against doctors saddening, they deserve better: CJI Ramana

Chief Justice of India N V Ramana on Saturday expressed serious concern over rising violence against upright and hardworking doctors and lodging of false cases against them. The CJI said that he would also like to pay his tribute to the unending spirit of doctors, who work tirelessly round the clock for their patients. Doctors are mentors, guides, friends and counsellors. They should always remain active members of society, and solve problems faced by the people,” he said. The CJI said, “I am extremely saddened to witness rising violence against doctors. Several false cases are being lodged against upright and hardworking doctors. They need a better, and more secure, working environment. This is where professional medical associations assume great significance. They have to be proactive in highlighting the demands of doctors.” The CJI also expressed concern about the healthcare system in India and said that more than 70 per cent of the population resides in rural areas where people don’t have minimum basic amenities, forget about the comfort of corporate hospitals.

“Even Primary Health Centres (PHC) are also not properly equipped, if there is a PHC there are no doctors and if there is a doctor, there is no PHC. If both are there, there is no infrastructure. This is the situation in this country and in this scenario this type of affordable technique of detecting cancer through ultrasound at the preliminary stage is very helpful,” the CJI said.

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May 8, 2022 2

A comparison of imparting Justice Vs Health: Grave injustice to medical professionals

The work at hospital continues day and night, 24 hours and 365 days, despite almost always lesser number of doctors and required manpower. Systems in hospitals are designed and maintained meticulously to have no pendency what-so-ever situation is. Larger number of patients go back home treated well and very few unfortunate patients are unable to recover, but still whatever is required- is done invariably. Pendency in courts casts a 'pall of gloom' , presents a hopeless situation: AG NEW DELHI: India's top law officer K K Venugopal on Friday said litigants' fundamental right to speedy justice lay in tatters and implored country's top judges to take drastic measures to arrest their waning confidence in justice delivery system caused by monstrous pendency of 4.8 crores cases, many for decades. When we look at the pendency, a pall of gloom settles. We find that we are in a hopeless situation," Venugopal said, "How has the justice delivery system deteriorated to this extent? If you look at the pendency over the years, we realise that over a lakh of cases are pending for more than 30 years at trial court level and 10-15 years in HCs. How do you believe that so far as litigants are concerned they would have confidence in the justice delivery system?" "But against whom the poor litigant can complain, or an under trial who is incarcerated for a number of years which he would have undergone had he been convicted and punished? Do they file a case for enforcement of their fundamental right? But against whom?

Justice is needed for satisfaction of soul and peaceful mind, is of same importance what is to the health of body. Justice delayed gives a sense of hurt and pain to soul. Pendency in courts simply reflects the grave injustice people are living with.

Pendency in courts casts a ‘pall of gloom’, presents a hopeless situation: AG

Justice and Health- Both are crucial for happiness of the living beings as well as society as a whole. Hospitals are full of patients and so are courts with litigants. None of the people go to hospital and courts happily and everyone invariably wants early relief.

Compare the situation in courts with a hospital. Once a patient visits hospital, he will be treated almost instantaneously; irrespective how many patients’ doctors might have to examine in a day or night. There is almost nil pendency in hospitals, be it day or night, emergency or routine cases.

Now can we expect similar treatment at courts? Do the people visiting courts are imparted justice in real sense. Doctors get few minutes to decide. Most of the time, for the investigations and the treatment few visits are required. But there is no pendency. In Government hospitals, even appointments are not given. A doctor sitting in outdoor will see hundreds of patients. On emergencies night duties, doctor will not be able to count how many he/she has stabilized or numbers treated.

Even in such chaotic systems, doctor can be punished, dragged to courts or assaulted for unintentional mistakes, that are almost always secondary to load of patients or inept infrastructure.

The work at hospital continues day and night, 24 hours and 365 days, despite almost always lesser number of doctors and required manpower. Systems in hospitals are designed and maintained meticulously to have no pendency what-so-ever situation is. Larger number of patients go back home treated well and very few unfortunate patients are unable to recover, but still whatever is required- is done invariably.

Pendency in courts casts a ‘pall of gloom’ , presents a hopeless situation: AG

NEW DELHI: India’s top law officer K K Venugopal on Friday said litigants’ fundamental right to speedy justice lay in tatters and implored country’s top judges to take drastic measures to arrest their waning confidence in justice delivery system caused by monstrous pendency of 4.8 crores cases, many for decades. When we look at the pendency, a pall of gloom settles. We find that we are in a hopeless situation,” Venugopal said, “How has the justice delivery system deteriorated to this extent? If you look at the pendency over the years, we realise that over a lakh of cases are pending for more than 30 years at trial court level and 10-15 years in HCs. How do you believe that so far as litigants are concerned they would have confidence in the justice delivery system?” “But against whom the poor litigant can complain, or an under trial who is incarcerated for a number of years which he would have undergone had he been convicted and punished? Do they file a case for enforcement of their fundamental right? But against whom?

44 million pending court cases: How did we get here?

There are about 73,000 cases pending before the Supreme Court and about 44 million in all the courts of India, up 19% since last year.

According to a 2018 Niti Aayog strategy paper, at the then-prevailing rate of disposal of cases in our courts, it would take more than 324 years to clear the backlog.

Grave injustice for medical professions:

A doctor making wrong diagnosis (gets few minutes to decide) can be prosecuted, but courts giving wrong verdicts (get years to decide) are immune?

2. Compare the remuneration of lawyers to doctors. Doctors gets few hundreds to save a life (often with abuses) and lawyers can get paid in millions (happily).

3. Doctors treat the body and larger is still not fully known about mechanisms. Still doctors can be blamed for unanticipated events. Whereas law is a completely known and written subject.

4. If health is citizen’s right so should be a timely justice.

Despite doing so much for patients, still people’s behaviour to doctors and hospitals is not respectful. Doctors are punished for slight delays and people and courts remain intolerant to unintentional mistakes. But people can’t behave in the same manner to courts and legal system and keep on tolerating the blatant injustice for years.

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