Yesterday a fifteen year old boy performed a Caesarian section on a woman in a private nursing home in Tamil Nadu while his doctor parents watched. Apparently the lives of the woman and the baby were endangered because the parents want the boy to be listed in the Guinness Book of Records. An editorial in today's english daily was very indignant about risking a patient's life without informed consent. I fail to understand what the excitement is about. Surely India has the largest number of quacks in the world, people without any knowledge of anatomy, physiology, pathology or pharmacology calling themselves doctors and prescribing any drug with complete impunity. Fellows with dubious degrees in homeopathy, ayurveda, unani even acupuncture have clinics with huge boards proclaiming Dr. So and so with a string of meaningless letters after their names intended to fool the illiterate and the gullible. A semiliterate fellow owns a large nursing home in posh Saket area of Delhi. The board outside his room says Dr. -- . MD which apparently stands for Managing Director but patients naturally think Doctor of Medicine. Physiotherapists and chemists call themselves doctors and treat anyone with any illness. Sadly the biggest quacks are my surgical colleagues. Most surgeons are stupid enough to think that they can be physicians and do not refuse medical problems such as tuberculosis, hypertension, diabetes or coronary artery disease. Mistakes are common and when things get out of hand they quickly get rid of the patient. Everyday we see patients on inadequate, inappropriate or plainly dangerous medicines but there is nothing we can do. As a life member of the Indian Medical Association I have asked the office bearers to improve patient care in the country but no one is interested. For the politicians, who have been unable to provide even basic medical care to the aam aadmi, quacks are heaven sent. If the aam aadmi is stupid whose fault is that? Meanwhile what of our 'Dougie Howser' and his parents? Some people must be ecstatic today, imagine the scope for bribes.
gui
2 comments:
It is one thing to misrepresent for financial gain. It is quite another to risk a patients live for something as asinine as a record. I think those parents should not only have their licenses revoked, they should also face jail time. I also think the authorities should not turn a blind eye to the doctors in Delhi who misrepresent. Someone should do something for crying outloud.
Trouble is that only a person who has been through the entire MBBS course has enough knowledge to know where the worms are. Reservation means that students with low marks and perhaps low ability are getting admission to medical schools while rich people are able to pay upto Rs. 5 million to get their useless children through a medical degree. Politicians only see votes and refuse any changes. People suffer.
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