It is not rare to come across a news of a doctor being beaten or harassed and hospitals being ransacked. Eminent doctors speaking at the ‘Gratitude Week – A Tribute to Health Guardians’ by Integrated Health and Wellbeing (IHW) Council were unanimous that doctors face too many hazards and despite laws in place, need a better safety net and empathy from society.
Prof. Debashish Danda, Founder of Clinical Immunology & Rheumatology department, CMC Vellore, and President-Elect of the Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology, says, “Doctors face biological hazard, now seen during the pandemic – they are also at risk of contracting other infectious diseases like HIV. Because of lifestyle, the lifespan of a doctor in India is less than an average Indian. There are pressures and stress factors – peer pressure, social pressure, academic pressure as well as professional rivalry. They also spend a very little quality time with their families resulting in children missing their parents or even divorce between spouses. Physical assault, which has seen a rise in the past 10-15 nike air jordan 4 wig types short human hair wigs best nfl uniforms custom soccer jerseys cheap adidas shoes custom jersey chicago bears custom jersey top male sex toys nike air max sale outlet custom jerseys custom jersey maker super bowl champions sex toys for beginners ears, and 1 in every 10 doctors face the risk of either criminal charges or physical assault.”
Dr Shuchin Bajaj, Founder & Director, Ujala Cygnus Hospital says, “In the beginning, we thought we were fighting a 21st century enemy with a 20th century weapon, but we have been able to find a solution. What pains me is that people did not realise the gravity of the situation – some of the RWAs in the area where we have hospitals filed a case against us so that we do not treat corona patients.”
Highlighting that the pandemic has not been able to bridge the trust deficit between doctors and patients, Dr Rajinder K. Dhamija, Head of Neurology department, Lady Hardinge Hospital, New Delhi says, “The pandemic has underlined that our focus on advanced healthcare is not enough and the need to focus on primary and secondary care at district level is very important. However, it calls for ‘Jan Bhagidari’ – people need to participate to enable doctors discharge their duty. But the trust deficit between doctors and patients remains – there were incidents of violence in hospitals in the past, so we have these boards saying attacking doctors on duty is a criminal offence. When the pandemic came in, the government enacted a law criminalising attack on healthcare workers, but time will tell if it will work. We need to do more at society level, need to work collectively and follow the guidelines – these are evidence-based recommendations, we should realise and follow the principle of ‘I protect you and you protect me’.”