sisir mishra, op
Sambalpur, July 31: The snowballing medical crisis at the Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR) in Burla in this district is only symptomatic of a much bigger malaise gripping the once-well-maintained healthcare system in the region and beyond. What is unusual about the current imbroglio at VIMSAR is that the unwelcome and pitiable situation has pitted the common people against doctors, also as they have boycotted work and thrown the healthcare delivery at the premier institute in utter disarray.
The public’s anguish found eloquent expression Monday when they rallied behind the director and enforced a Burla bandh in protest against alleged highhandedness of the medical students and a section of the doctors.
Irregularities and unethical practices of doctors at government hospitals in the state are not a secret. Cocking a snook at government guidelines has allegedly become a common practice among several doctors. Reams of notifications against private practice, massive absenteeism at remote and rural health centres, doctors playing truant even at urban hospitals, their resistance to write generic medicines and being persuasive with patients to buy drugs from chemists and druggists of doctors’ choice are seen as usual practices.
This apart, doctors were also accused of forcing patients to visit pre-designated patho-labs. Instances are one too many wherein doctors on whom patients blindly repose their trust allegedly fail to live up to their expectations. What is commonly cited is the instances of pregnant women being forced to go for C-sections. There no more are normal deliveries, as “neither doctors nor hospitals can made much money out of a normal delivery.”
Another complaint cited against doctors is that multinational pharmaceuticals have made it a practice to supply expensive gifts and medical equipment to leading physicians, who then prescribe only such MNCs’ drugs even while there are cheaper options in the shop shelves. Doctors are put up in five-star hotels along with their families while on vacationing, and are being gifted paid-holidays abroad by these MNCs, it is said.
Private hospitals generally put doctors under pressure so that they have to attain targets that will help the institution make hefty profits. Their remuneration is directly linked to the number of operations they prescribe and carry out and the size of medical bills of patients. Instances are cited also of bribes being offered so that doctors refer patients to select hospitals. Those in the medical profession say that even though the medical council rules are robust, their enforcement left much to be desired.
“The rot in the healthcare system is directly linked to the system of admissions to private medical colleges. Admissions for medical seats are not decided by the merit of a student or his aptitude. Seats are sold to the highest bidder. Parents shell out crores to secure seats for their sons or daughters at medical colleges. Once these students secure degrees, they naturally try to make money to compensate for what they spent for their education,” sources in the know note.