It used to be more or less a tradition, not deserving to be called any superstition, that one who somehow visited a Hospital – may be to enquire about the wellbeing of a person under treatment etc — to at least have a glass of water taken etc before leaving the hospital as a mark of respect to the healing characteristics believed to be bestowed by nature on Hospitals . The Hospitals , verily used to be known as Shafakhwana – ‘Shafa’ means healing and ‘Khwana’ means an entity , an institution whatever. A Shafakwhana or a Hospital is not merely a finely constructed building of stones, bricks and mortar `with a signage at the entrance reading as Hospital but there must be Doctors and other medical staff present and working throughout with certain adjustments in number of the staff during night hours. However, there should be no licence nor administrative tolerance to in respect of not responding to the SoS calls from the hospital administration to Doctors to visit the Hospital for an emergency. Causing the channels of contact to be rendered ineffective so as to avoid responding to the call from the administrative wing especially during night hours by some Doctors is unethical , sinful and immoral as well. Instances and the extent of this unwarranted practice may not necessarily be given in these lines.
We know , on the contrary , the Doctors being considered and treated by the people next only to God since they provide comforts from pains, succour to the sufferings and healing hand to other physical problems of the people. What is tried to bring home is both the Hospitals and the Doctors are embodiments of ”Shafa” or healing / successful treatment of the suffering lot and one is incomplete without the other .A hospital, especially a Government run Hospital , therefore, provides to a Doctor a recognition, a particular post, placement in the society, designation, career building opportunities ,respect , handsome assured salary and what not.
It is not out of context to stress upon the fact that once you achieve all these things, much longed for otherwise, an element of contentment is generally missing. We in India, otherwise, culturally and traditionally, have been embarking upon how to reach fast the levels of near contentment if not in absolute terms instead of the western traditions of how fast to reach higher levels of satisfaction. Though fundamentally there is a vast contradiction between the two types of thinking , yet it can be admitted that levels of ethics and dedication to the cause of the suffering is found more there than generally in our country. Doctors are well placed in Jammu and Kashmir economically and in terms of service conditions , some groups lamenting more and more notwithstanding , it is unbecoming on the part of those Doctors who allegedly are more concerned about their private practice and about the ”business” of their private clinics rather than their full assigned duties in Hospitals in attending to and treating these patients.
Should series of advisories and instructions be coming from the concerned departments almost regularly for personnel belonging to such a noble profession – may be in respect of avoiding rural postings and not attending to duties regularly in such areas ? Should now the concerned Department be constrained to issue directives to those Doctors whose interest to further their private practice at the cost of the expected hours of duty from them in Hospitals , to refrain from referring patients to their private clinics / nursing homes etc otherwise expected to be treated by them in the Government Hospitals ? Should there be Do’s and Don’ts issued by the H&ME Department as to how Government doctors ”borne” out of the department and the system after availing of all benefits of heavy investments made by the Government to roll them out as Doctors , that they were expected to follow ethical rules . Do they need to be reminded that in case their private practice seemed to them being more lucrative , they could resign their Government jobs in that they must be asked to pay due compensation to the Government .
Otherwise also, if it is decided to conduct an opinion poll of OPD patients to ascertain as to how they were treated in OPDs of the Government Hospitals, they will unfold the basic mechanism at work to instil frustration and despondency in these patients about the efficacies of these OPDs hence rushing to these Doctors for ”detailed ” consultations privately. Times have changed and you cannot have bread buttered (heavily) on both sides.
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