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    War On Health: Farzand Ahmed

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    farazalam08
    The document summarizes the shortage of doctors in Uttar Pradesh's public hospitals and medical colleges. Key points include: 1) Many positions for specialists remain unfilled, with over 80% of super-specialist jobs vacant. 2) Doctors are leaving due to low government salaries that are much less than private colleges and national institutes. 3) Political interference from the Chief Minister and tensions with police have further strained relations between doctors and the government. As a result, patient care has suffered, especially for the poor.

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    War On Health: Farzand Ahmed

    Uploaded by

    farazalam08
    74 views4 pages
    The document summarizes the shortage of doctors in Uttar Pradesh's public hospitals and medical colleges. Key points include: 1) Many positions for specialists remain unfilled, with over 80% of super-specialist jobs vacant. 2) Doctors are leaving due to low government salaries that are much less than private colleges and national institutes. 3) Political interference from the Chief Minister and tensions with police have further strained relations between doctors and the government. As a result, patient care has suffered, especially for the poor.

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    The document summarizes the shortage of doctors in Uttar Pradesh's public hospitals and medical colleges. Key points include: 1) Many positions for specialists remain unfilled, with over 80% of super-specialist jobs vacant. 2) Doctors are leaving due to low government salaries that are much less than private colleges and national institutes. 3) Political interference from the Chief Minister and tensions with police have further strained relations between doctors and the government. As a result, patient care has suffered, especially for the poor.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    74 views4 pages

    War On Health: Farzand Ahmed

    Uploaded by

    farazalam08
    The document summarizes the shortage of doctors in Uttar Pradesh's public hospitals and medical colleges. Key points include: 1) Many positions for specialists remain unfilled, with over 80% of super-specialist jobs vacant. 2) Doctors are leaving due to low government salaries that are much less than private colleges and national institutes. 3) Political interference from the Chief Minister and tensions with police have further strained relations between doctors and the government. As a result, patient care has suffered, especially for the poor.

    Copyright:

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    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    of 4

    War on health

    Farzand Ahmed

    May 15, 2008

    Print

    It’s hard to retain, let alone recruit, a doctor in Uttar Pradesh these days.

    That’s the bitter lesson the authorities of the prestigious Chhatrapati Sahuji Maharaj
    Medical University (CSMMU), formerly, King George’s Medical College, in Lucknow, learnt
    when they advertised for seven cardiology posts recently.

    Only four interviewees turned up and out of the selected two, only one joined. And this was
    not a stand-alone incident.

    Out of the six government medical colleges in the state, five are running with ad-hoc
    principals and this shortage of teachers may even result in the de-recognition of the medical
    colleges.

    At a time when India’s healthcare sector is witnessing an unprecedented boom, horror


    stories in health are ricocheting in the country’s biggest state. As always the victim is the
    public and the culprit is politics.

    With medical practitioners, the police and the bureaucracy locking horns, health is a war-
    zone.

    If in the last round, the latter slapped charges of immoral private practice on “greedy
    doctors”, medics have hit back by shunning jobs in medical colleges and state health
    services.
    It is the poor who suffer

    Check out the statistics. Over 80 per cent posts of super-specialists in state hospitals and
    medical colleges are lying vacant.
    Even state health minister Anant Kumar Mishra admitted recently that only 197 medics had
    responded to the 900 posts advertised by the state Public Service Commission.

    The prestigious CSMMU has no specialists in nephology, transfusion, organ transplant and
    community dentistry, while the numbers are dwindling in radio diagnosis and cardio-
    thoracic vascular surgery.

    Out of the 28 posts advertised at the dental college, just 12 medicos applied and only four
    took up the jobs. The Lucknow Civil Hospital has only two anesthetists while six posts
    remain unfilled. This story repeats itself across the state.

    One of the pet peeves among the medical fraternity is low government salary. “We get
    salaries that are lower than those of teachers in colleges,” says Dr Naim Ahmad, general
    secretary of the CSMMU Teachers’ Association (CTA).

    “We do not get conveyance, periodical allowances, medical reimbursements or financial


    assistance to attend seminars that doctors in premier institutes get,” he adds.

    Along with fancy buildings, well-appointed surroundings and good equipment, a professor
    in a private medical college gets around Rs 75,000.

    In contrast, professors at the medical university and


    government colleges get between Rs 35,000-40,000, says
    Prof. R.K. Saran, one of the vice-presidents of CTA.

    Apart from market forces, political pulls and pressure at


    work also make the medicos seethe with anger.

    Chief Minister Mayawati holds the portfolio of medical


    education and the “highhanded attitude” of her favourite
    bureaucrats toward the medical community has created
    much tension.

    The issue of “private practice” by government doctors has


    been a sore point. Last year, the state high court came down heavily on doctors and directed
    the government to depute intelligence officials to list the errants.
    Though the doctors tried to sway Mayawati, the government stood firm. Ever since, there
    has been a flood of applications for voluntary retirements, says Dr Nasim Jamal, professor
    of radiology with CSMMU.

    Matters came to a head last month, when the police conducted raids at the residences of
    well-known CSMMU professors, without taking the university into confidence.

    CTA members gheraoed the vice-chancellor, suspended medical services and declared that
    they would not treat VIPS. Moreover, 31 specialists applied for voluntary retirement.

    Fearing a revolt by doctors, the government stopped the raids and assured them that their
    demands for better pay would be considered, says Dr Ahmad.

    The association wants the pay package to be brought at par with that of national institutes’,
    modern equipment, sanitary conditions, better amenities for students and making private
    practice optional for doctors.

    But some feel even these measures wouldn’t stem the exodus.

    “Despite higher pay and a better environment, specialists have been leaving the Sanjay
    Gandhi Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Research and the All India Institute of Medical
    Research,” says former CTA president Dr G.K. Shukla.

    “But the government should treat doctors with respect, and create better facilities for
    teaching and research.”

    Others blame the doctors for the messy state of affairs. “They devote more time to private
    practice and treat the poor with disregard.” says MLC and Samajwadi Party leader Rakesh
    Singh Rana.

    The strike by CSMMU doctors was seen by patients as a way of blackmailing the
    government.

    Their differences apart, the Uttar Pradesh Government will have to take urgent steps to
    resuscitate its health system and the medical fraternity will have to outgrow its leanings
    towards profiteering. Otherwise the common man will continue to suffer.
    Wound deepens

    • 1983: Private practice banned in Uttar Pradesh medical colleges and hospitals.

    • 1996: Central pay commission’s recommendations made applicable to Delhi doctors.

    • 2003: State doctors demand parity with the central pay commission’s recommendations.
    Mayawati revises non-practicing-allowance.

    • 2005: Govt plans action against doctors doing private practice.

    • 2007: Court directs government to take action against doctors found indulging in private
    practice. Doctors take voluntary retirement.

    • March 2008: Doctors threaten not to attend to VIPs after duty hours.

    • April 2008: Police raids CSMMU doctors to check private practice. Court pulls up
    government and CSMMU for private practice. In retaliation, doctors suspend health services
    at state’s largest hospital.

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