(Forwarded as received)

I still remember the times when we used to be taken to the hallowed clinic / hospital of our Doctor for various cuts, bruises and minor surgeries. Our usual boisterous nature and vociferous screams would be instantly subdued and muted once we crossed the threshold of the doctor’s building. Importantly this occurred without the “not to be messed with” glare of our mother. There was something like an aura around these places which made you reverential without being told. The doctor himself had a bald head and spectacles which he would constantly keep somewhere and forget. His gentle smile even when he was giving me stitches would ease much pain and any howling had to be reserved for later after we were out of “his” boundaries.

With such memories it was an easy decision to join medicine as a profession even though I was selected for engineering as well as architecture. It was once we graduated that the scene started to change with the first major disease to strike the medical profession in India debilitating it in 1986. The Consumer Protection Act was brought in to protect the interests of so called consumers and overnight doctors were equated with petty traders. By 1995 it was firmly established that doctors even if they provided free service remained service providers and could be sued for providing allegedly negligent services. Money became central to the treatment process and it left the glory of the profession in tatters. The Nobel art of healing was overnight turned into a commercial transaction.

The profession never really recovered from this disease and tried to adapt as one would adapt with a disability. The adaptations however did not help matters. Simultaneously around this time corporate culture came into health care and private medical education became a buzzword for politicians with stacks of ill gotten wealth to invest. It became socially acceptable that those who provided medical education could earn in crores and those who owned five star hospitals could earn all at the expense of the doctors who now paid through their nose to gain education but would be paid a pittance for their services.

Meanwhile the myth that doctors earn in crores was propagated vehemently because it raised TRPs of channels to decry money having to be paid to alleviate misery. The Government does not want to spend, we save money for dowry of girl child but do not keep a bundle for old age or healthcare. So where should the money come from ? Any adverse outcome in a private hospital became an opportunity to press and visual media to make profits.

No longer are voices subdued with reverence in hospital premises. Those with political ambitions find medical establishments to be fertile grounds to create a nuisance to get patient bill reduced or seek compensation for death threatening with violence and vandalism. With press in tow it is the easiest way to gain political relevance.

The successive Governments used tax payers money to buy votes by appeasing politically important segments of society and in the process neglected healthcare. Today India is ranked among the last 10 countries of the world on healthcare indices despite its doctors being welcomed with open arms in the most developed nations. PCPNDT Act restricted use of technology essential to save pregnant women and in the process, killed thousands of pregnant women, many doctors were arrested, machines seized while the sex ratio of 0-6 years actually worsened. A social ill was tried to be treated by a legislative and bureaucratic pill with disastrous consequences

Despite poor Government support India’s doctors stepped up to the challenge and created Small and Medium Healthcare establishments which provided 70 % of healthcare needs in the country. It was time for the profession to suffer another blow in form of Clinical Establishment Act which though not fully operational as yet is sufficient to send all doctors scurrying to close their establishments and seek alternate sources of income.

The Deathblow to the profession has now been struck by the NMC Bill. The society cannot understand it but in a major conflict of interest the Politicians who own these private medical colleges either directly or through proxies have gifted themselves unlimited wealth and benefits with no checks or balances through this Bill. There is going to be an army of confused doctors who are trained in one system of medicine but will be practising another system of medicine. As also there will be another army of poorly trained MBBS graduates who cannot clear the exit exam and hence remain unemployed. Meanwhile the private medical colleges who now have unbridled powers to increase any number of seats will have raked in their moolah and will be laughing their way to the bank.

Professional autonomy has been subjugated to bureaucratic control and the quality of medical training is bound to suffer. With everything now dependent on the exit exam you will have dummy admissions in medical colleges with students attending coaching classes to clear the exit exam. The connect of the trainee with the patient and with seniors from whom they learn by example will be the biggest casualty.

The respect given to the profession which was what aspired youngsters in our generations has been given a quiet burial but the actual casualty will be healthcare including yours and mine in coming years. Society may today applaud the vice like stranglehold the Government has taken on the profession but ultimately it will be this same society which will choke on this strangle hold. Rest in peace dear Profession, my teachers and trainers , our generation has failed to protect our rights , as also the dignity and pride you so passionately promoted in your work.

Dr Neeraj Nagpal
Convenor,Medicos Legal Action Group, Managing Director MLAG Indemnity,
Ex President IMA Chandigarh
Director Hope Gastrointestinal Diagnostic Clinic,
1184, Sector 21 B Chandigarh
09316517176 , 9814013735
0172; 4633735, 2707935, 2706024, 5087794
email; hopeclinics@yahoo.com, hopelinics@gmail.com mlagindemnity@gmail.com
For Contributions; "Medicos Legal Action Group" Ac No 499601010036479 IFSC code UBIN0549967 Union Bank Sector 35 C Chandigarh;
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx