Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, May 2: Inaugurating the two-day medical conference on “Patient Safety” here, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said, in the rapidly changing scenario, as India becomes a part of the global world, it will also have to deal with a number of global concerns which are now being realised even in the developing countries and, therefore, the issue of “patient safety”, both inside and outside the hospital care, will require to be addressed with a higher degree of professionalism and discretion.
There was a time, Dr Jitendra Singh said, when, once the patient came under doctor’s care, he felt secure enough as if he was in a divine shelter but, with the advent of consumerism, corporate culture and high profile patient management options, issues of safeguards in patient management have began to be discussed more and more. It was nearly 20 years ago, he recalled, that the medical profession was brought under the ambit of “Consumer Protection Act” and at that time too, such a debate had arisen and there was also certain amount of discomfiture but with the passage of time, the doctors, the patients and the society learnt to live with it.
While the legal safeguards will be contemplated and developed in times to come, Dr Jitendra Singh said, there also have to be strict safeguards against incapacitation due to non-communicable diseases like Diabetes which has began to afflict younger age groups in increasing numbers. Need is to ensure that long term complications from these diseases do not curtail the potential of the youth who today constitute more than 65% of the nation’s population and India can hardly afford to compromise with their energies. Suitable insurance covers to ensure timely management of preventable disorders will also have to be considered, he added.
At the end of the day, however, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the ultimate prescription is based on 3 “Ss” to be followed by medical professionals themselves, which are “Self-code”, “Self-updating” and “Self-restraint”. In this regard, the rapidly emerging corporate hospital sector, with high financial stakes, may also have to re-visit its approach towards society in general and patient in particular, he added.
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