Page 66 - Tehelka Issue 15 August 2018

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There aren’t enough life

savers at civil hospitals

The LasT or most of us, when we seek tender ate qualification in the southern state could
loving care, we turn to our moth-
work in government hospitals for two days
Word ers, but when it’s illness ravag- in a week. The government, in turn, would
give them an honorarium of `10,000 a
ing our strength, it’s doctors from
Abdul WAsey F whom we seek a cure. Sometimes month. They would also get consultation
the medicine seems worse than the dis- fee from the government on the basis of the
ease, but they, like mothers, are lifesavers in number of patients they attend to.
our midst. Did you ever wonder what to do Another way to cope with the rising de-
when medical practitioners are not avail- mand for doctors in state-run hospitals is to
able when we need them the most. This is fill the tens of thousands of positions that
the case, majority of us will agree, when are lying vacant across the country for quite
it comes to government hospitals, where some time. In Uttar Pradesh, for example,
common people approach when ailments there were around 17,000 odd sanctioned
start hurting their health. The reason is: posts for doctors last year, against which
There are not enough doctors. only around 10,000 were appointed, while
The latest Bombay High Court’s advice to
the Maharashtra government may go a long
way in dealing with the crisis situation in Budding doctors
government hospitals. “Encourage private
doctors to assist in civil hospitals across the should be taught to
state by way of charity so that poor patients deal with their patients
can be benefited,” it suggested. At present,
such initiatives are being taken only by a with compassion.
handful of doctors on voluntary basis. But After all money is not
the courts’ push may help the state govern-
ments to set strategy to get more private everything
doctors involved in the civil hospitals.
Last year, the Uttar Pradesh government
had sought proposals from director general the remaining seats remained vacant. The
(medical and health services) to rope in pri- figures may be different in different states
vate doctors, including specialists, to treat but the situation remains the same. Almost
patients at government-run district hos- every civil hospital in the country lacks
pitals as well as community and primary enough human resources to look after the
health centres across the state. The move health of general public.
was aimed at ensuring proper and timely Injecting more doctors into the sector
medicare to the sick at a time when the de- will also help reduce the shortage of medi-
partment was facing a shortage of around cal practioners in the country. For that, the
7,000 doctors, including around 1,800 spe- medical education should be made acces-
cialists, in the state. There is no update on sible to one and all qualified candidates at
the initiative since November 2017. cheaper costs. Additional provisions need
Karnataka, however, has led the way. In to made for economically weak students
2016, the state had come up with a plan to to make medical education affordable for
deal with acute shortage of doctors in the them. The life savers in the making should
state. Private specialist doctors were given be taught to deal their patients with com-
the option of working as “doctors on call” in passion. After all money is not everything.
government hospitals besides their private
practice. Private doctors with postgradu- letters@tehelka.com

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