I grabbed my mobile after a message notification tone rang. There was a message posted to a group on WhatsApp from one of my childhood friends. Although I ignore lengthy text messages as it takes too much time scrolling down over small screen of the mobile phone. I started reading the message to know about the subject. As I read further I could not stop myself in the middle as there was something very crucial that did not allow me to ignore and I read the entire message at one go.
I will not share the entire message here, but I will share the glimpse to assimilate the soul of the message. It talked about three incidents that had have happened during the past few days in India, here it goes:
Incident 1
In Panvel a 60 year old female patient was being treated who was suffering from Steven Johnson Syndrome, Diabetes and Hypertension with Cardiac Disease. The patient was in ICU from past 15 days. She was undergoing free treatment under ESIC scheme of government. Relatives were given clear idea that patient is very serious and can die during the treatment and if they want they can go for second option. In spite of that her relatives insisted to have treatment at the same hospital. Unfortunately the patient died and later the doctor was beaten very badly which resulted in multiple fractures and he had been admitted to the ICU.
Incident 2
In Parbhani a fracture patient was treated. The relatives were asked to pay 600 rupees as fees for x-ray and plaster. The request resulted in a rebuke and patient’s relatives ransacked the hospital and beaten the doctor who helped them.
Incident 3
In Allahabad a patient of alcoholic Liver Cirrhosis with Terminal Hepatorenal Failure died while receiving treatment under the care of a super specialist doctor. This is the condition in which almost 90 percent patients die in spite of having the most advanced medical infrastructure, not only in India but even in foreign countries. Following this death, his relatives assaulted the super specialist doctor at 5’O clock in morning who was treating the patient by compromising his own sleep.
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Now one simple question: Will you ever inspire your child to be a doctor?
Well, after reading this I decided to share these incidents in my own words. But before sharing them it was essential to verify the integrity of these incidents and truly speaking I confirmed none of them. There were some obvious reasons behind not doing so. First, my friend who forwarded me the message is himself a doctor and he seldom have time to share messages on group. If he had forwarded a message that means it holds some relevance and authenticity. Second, this is not something new in our country. We have heard and seen many such incidents in the past that have happened in almost every nook and corner of our country.
With respect to the above incidents and looking at the critical situation of the patients it is evident that there was no mistake of the doctor. The relatives of the patients misbehaved and reacted unnecessarily. Ultimately the act of beating the doctors is unforgivable. At one point of the message it was said that media always stay biased whenever such incidents takes place and no one bothers about the indispensable security measures and laws required for safety of the doctors and for the vital infrastructure of the hospital. Ultimately the expensive infrastructure is also been devastated.
There is another important thing that we never think about it when we come across such incidents and we haven’t developed a second thought about it. Have we ever tried to dig out the root cause of such arrogant behavior of kin of the patient? Where this phenomenon have developed from and why? I strongly recommend that whatever the case may be, no one has the right to over-react in form of such arrogant behavior. It is never ever acceptable.
People must understand and learn that human body is not a mechanical device that could be troubleshooted in a step by step manner whenever an ailment arises. Different people react in a different manner for the similar treatment. So there is no predetermined way of treating every single individual. If people are unable to understand then they must be made to understand and accept the reality either by lick or stick.
We must also not ignore the other side of the coin. We may find examples of hospitals that have turned as money making machine by keeping aside their prime objective. It is true that every business must make money to survive but the prime objective of medical practices should always remain intact i.e. service to the humanity. If a medical institution or practitioner is found deviating from his sole path of saving life of a critical human being, he must also be punished accordingly.
These incidents at par must be considered as national shame where highly educated and dedicated professionals were berated and beaten publically. When our near and dear one is admitted to a hospital we cry and plead for the best possible treatment. The scenario is upturned instantly and we start behaving like a ballistic missile when things don’t fall as expected. This is purely disgusting.
A doctor is the first person after God who can save the life of a victim. Without a doctor we can’t help the diseased besides relying on the mercy of the almighty. This is what we usually do when we are confirmed that a person’s life can’t be saved. We must agree and accept the fact that a doctor is the real god, but in turn what we do, we defame the deity. We deny the pristine powers of the divine, whom we call the life savior. Upbringing the enormous change into the social souls is the need of the hour. We must learn to respect the professionalism both in our personal and professional life.
At the end of that WhatsApp message it stated that being a sensible human being you must share this message and react. Truly speaking, I admit that we must share this message but not to react but to sensitize people. By this article I would like to request all the readers to keep aside the Newton’s Third Law of Motion that says – for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Let’s do not react or over-react upon this situation and instead getting panic let us spread this message in public as an appeal to inculcate a sense of respect for every professional for the sake and betterment of humanity.
Let’s Be Human!
