Doctors of Kolkata Protest and you Need to do it too! Wait this is not a movie trailer and you will not find placard holding film stars and artists of Bengali-Hindi movie industries protesting. Guess why?
What kind of society has Doctor-beaters roaming around? The kind where child rapists, terrorists, and murderers roam around too and get second chances.
When doctors feel a lack of security, it’s a sad situation. We as doctors have empathy, for all persons who are suffering. Anyone who is a medical student or is a doctor is doing so because they want to serve. But to serve you need mental wellness and environment compatible with this.
How can things like this happen with no repercussions?
The event
Death of an eighty-year-old patient, followed by a two hundred strong mob beating up doctors and putting a young doctor in ICU with a depressed skull fracture and intracranial hemorrhage. The young doctor’s treatment is strangely enough being done at a private neurosurgical institute.
I rarely write posts, which show the negative side of healthcare services. But today’s unfortunate event made me so sad,I had to share with my readers. This is an unfortunate day for everyone. My dear readers, bookmark this in your memory. If you think, this is an isolated event and will not affect you, think again. Doctors are part of social pillars, just like journalists, and everyone else. Once you break down pillars, you can repair them, but the crack will always show.
Will making bridge course doctors solve problems like this? Will increasing lateral entry doctors at the periphery and making stricter referral rules help?No way. It will just precipitate the impending doomsday. This is a social problem of disbalance, between expectation and reality. Doctor’s can help, but can we start talking about the maladies that affect ?
Are all deaths because of negligence? Do people only die because of negligence?
The post mortem report of the alleged neglected patient failed to reveal negligence. But the young doctor has already been beaten up and is now fighting for his life. This is an immediate problem and he needs all our prayers. But the bigger problem is, when this lack of trust, starts affecting the doctor-patient relationship. Health and healing is part of a bigger picture. It cannot and will not happen in isolation. It needs help from individual, administration, doctors and the general public.
[bctt tweet=”Health and healing is part of a bigger picture. It cannot and will not happen in isolation. It needs help from the individual, administration, doctors and the general public.” username=”misra_amrita”]
Is free healthcare a measure of quality?
People who are always judging doctors, need to start sitting for NEET and get enrolled in medical courses. Serve in Government hospitals and see first hand, the kind of effort and empathy this needs. Doctors are endangered species and your health care needs will be unmet in the future, even with all sorts of free health schemes. Guess why?
Because doctors will no longer treat.AI will treat and personal medical attention will be affordable only to the elite and well-connected people. Just like home visits by doctors are rare nowadays, meeting a doctor in person may be a thing of the past.
Are you ready? Do you think beating up people is a sign of a civilized, healthy society?
So true,
I have also seen some of my seniors got beaten and there was another such incidence during our internship time @ Burla. Large mob attacks are mostly planned ones and sometimes have political backing, so it’s needed to be protested strongly. And I am with my doctor colleagues in Kolkata, they need justice and it’s denied.
As we do have laws for protection of doctors in place but it would have of no use if there is no law enforcement of the same. 🙁
Thats the sad part.
Such a heartbreaking post, Amrita. This is a time for introspection, for all of us.
The problem is , people who cause all this chaos have no introspection going on. You and I, are a rare breed Damyanti
Beating up of doctors is a problem associated with unruly society. More so when hooligans know that they can get away. Somehow, despite all cultural renessaince, that part of the country is extremely violent. Even people, who may be blown away by a gust of wind, do not shy away from threatening that I shall cut you up. So no wonder people cannot control their emotion and beat up others. Latreal entry to medical school etc may have no bearing to the problem It is a law and order issue. Home minister of the state, who is also the chief minister, has to show some firmness and come down heavily on the goons. Simply announcing a compensation may not help.
Good point.The mentality is a problem.
Your post broke my heart dear, such a behaviour to the savers of our lives is heart wrenching. The angst is justified, I have a lost a very young family member doctor in greater noida killed by the crowd for the same reason. This totally is inhuman and unacceptable
That’s sad Roma
100% agree with you Amrita and we all should act upon getting a ban on any sort of voilence.
True
great article doc. I would like to add my two bits about our frustration as doctors, the media picks up the stray failures and does not talk about tremendous successful cases we talk about. In an government hospital all facilities are available, but there is so much entitlement in the patient that they do not follow basic hygiene rules, when infections set in the medical faculty are held responsible. Then you have the idiotic foreign funded research that take UP for study and the health policies for the entire country is based on this. Health problems vary from place to place. Oh! yes when we give a prescription the pharmacist will tell the patient whether the prescription is right or wrong.
Yes true .The entitlement syndrome
That’s horrible. There should be an investigation if something goes wrong but beating up doctors like we are in stone age is not the solution and very bad.
Yes it is
It is unfortunate and outrageous to see this kind of mob justice. What is worse there is no system in place to protect such persons from the mob violence.
Yes
Feel the same