New Delhi: Dr Prem Aggarwal, President, Indian Medical Association, Central Delhi Branch, has said ‘Don’t blame us for the deficiency in medical services or high cost of treatment. Doctors now days have been reduced to only skilled labourers employed by the government or the service providers.’
Dr Aggarwal, a very influential leader of doctors in the country, said that doctors are being targeted for for the faults of the government and corporate hospitals. The function was organised by IMA central Delhi Branch as an extension to Doctors Day.
In an emotion filled long speech, Dr Aggarwal expressed his angst over violence against doctors. Dr Aggarwal said, ‘Since the time of inception of human being, pain and sufferings to the human body is the essential ingredient of life. Medical man since then has been committed to alleviation of pain and sufferings and bringing smile on the face of a patient. Till late, medical science was not equipped with the strength of fighting with the strength of diseases and the expected life expectancy remained in 70s. All we had was certain opiates to relieve pain and the comforting healing touch and the medical man was considered a friend philosopher and guide for a patient to lead a healthy life and the medical man also took this profession as missionary with a mission only committed to alleviate pain and suffering.’
‘The recent development in science brought in a number of tools to fight with a menace of disease and today there is a situation that we can even fight with death reversing it sometime and delaying it near always. Strength of these developments also came with a number of ills that the industry which is producing these innovations is commercial and profiting in concept and these innovations which are becoming synonymous with strength of healing, made the profession commercial and also looking towards profit,’ added Dr Aggarwal
Dr Aggarwal further said, ‘The profession now has became a tool of the industry of innovation to earn profit for them and indirectly became commercial. In today atmosphere, medical professional has become a skilled labourer in the hands of its employer and is directed by the needs and directions of the employer. The biggest employer of this country for medical man is the Government which is hosting the largest number of beds and facilities for the public at large. They also claim that they are providing services for free but quality and quantity of services are strongly deficient leading to great dissatisfaction into the patients vis-z-viz medical services.’
‘The second biggest employer of this country for the medical man are the corporate who are proving these services allegedly in quality but at exorbitant price creating enormous amount of dissatisfaction into the patients viz-a-viz medical services, he added.
Without mincing words, Dr. Prem Aggarwal said, ‘dissatisfaction which is against the exploitation of their expectations either from the government or from the private sector is unfortunately directed towards the face of the this services i.e. a medical man and despite of the fact that doctors today being desirous of serving to best of his capacities is blamed for the deficiency in the services which he is no where related.’
Dr Girish Tyagi, Registrar, Delhi Medical Council and President of DMA ( Delhi Medical Association) also expressed anguish over doctors being on the for no fault of theirs. Dr Tyagi appealed to the government to improve public health system and provide for the security of doctors. Dr Ashok Rana, incharge, DGHS, Delhi government and Dr. Ashwini Dalmiya, Hony Secretary, IMACDB also spoke. Many prominent doctors were honoured on the occasion.
Dr Prem Aggarwal further said that if there is any deficiency in the services at t Govt. hospital then it is the administrator of that system is to be blamed not the resident doctor who is working as a skilled labourer overtime at the causality and if the cost of the treatment is to be blamed at a private hospital , it is the failure of the government to limit the costing of the drugs and consumables and the greed of the investors to earn more profit. For both, the deficiency and the cost the medical man is not responsible who is working wholeheartedly to serve the patient with a missionary zeal.Once such incidence spoils the delicate fabric of faith between the doctors and patients and spoils good work done by thousands of doctors and goodwill of thousands of patients.’
About 200 doctors who assembled in the function, pledged to re-dedicate themselves to the basic cause, the reason why they became a doctor i.e. to a patient
