Docs lament poor state of public health

“India has one doctor for every 800 people. Out of the country’s 1.2 million doctors, only 30 per cent are in the villages. Unfortunately, market forces do not work in health issues. Despite there being too many doctors around, their consultancy fee is rising,” said Dr Amar Jesani, coordinator of Centre for Enquiry into Health and Allied Themes (CEHAT).

Dr Arun Bal of the Association of Consumer Action on Safety and Health (ACASH) lamented the virtual absence of `ethics’ in medical education. “The journal of medical ethics’ published by CEHAT is the only journal on ethics published in the country.

When the Indian version of the British Medical Journal is published from Manipal, the five pages on medical ethics are deleted because the topic is the least read among doctors,” he disclosed. Bal also pointed out that medical ethics is a small section of the forensic medicine paper for a 15 mark question in the exams.

Shirish Deshpande of the Mumbai Grahak Panchayat cautioned that a complainant could be fined upto Rs 10,000 if his complaint was found to be frivolous.

Colin Gonsalves spoke out against the unprofessional functioning of the Maharashtra Medical Council. “Most patients are poor and not `English-literate’. It is but natural that they will fumble before the questioning doctor. Seventy per cent of cases are dismissed during the preliminary enquiry,” he said.

Dr Malini Karkal from the `Forum for Women and Health’ highlighted the discrimination while dealing with the health of men and women. “If there is the slightest safety risk in contraceptives for men, projects are abandoned immediately. But women continue to be guinea pigs,” she said.