Month: June 2019

Abhishek Ghosal, 27, a clinical research associate in Kolkata, is relieved that the doctors’ strike in West Bengal is over. As a member of the healthcare fraternity, he lists out important takeaways from the recent crisis.

Finally, everyone can heave a sigh of relief, now that the doctors’ strike in Bengal is over. But I sincerely hope that a long-lasting solution is worked upon hereto to revive the ailing healthcare system in our country. And for that all the stakeholders, i.e. patients, their caretakers and relatives, the government as well as the medical staff, need to communicate openly and clearly about their needs and problems. As you saw at the end, the stalemate over the strike could be broken only after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee agreed to come to the table.

It works both ways. Just as doctors are under a lot of pressure to perform their duties despite lack of infrastructure, an abysmal doctor to patient ratio etc., the patients and their relatives too are under duress – physical, financial and psychological.

There is no proper grievance redressal system in place in our country, especially in smaller towns. We need counsellors who can listen to the patients and their relatives and guide them in a way that they don’t lash out in anger. Thankfully, the points about a grievance redressal system and the need for counsellors were discussed in the Doctors-CM meeting.

Generally, one person lashes out and the whole healthcare machinery goes out of whack. Also, think of it:  Government hospitals have a 1,000 people coming in every day whereas the accommodation is for 100 beds only, while in private hospitals beds outnumber the patients who come in every day. The private hospitals thus charge a larger amount. Where does the common man, who is already making ends meet somehow, go in such a situation? The government needs to regulate private hospitals and take cognizance of the infrastructural needs of government hospitals if they want violence to stop.

Also, owing to the power of social media the well-to-do many a times make a mountain out of a molehill, while the poor who really suffer, their voice doesn’t reach the masses or corridors of power because they don’t know how to communicate properly. We need to be a country of people who can think deeply and only then can our healthcare system become better. We all need to work in unison.

Take the example of Kerala V/s Bihar and how two outbreaks, Nipah and encephalitis were tackled differently by the concerned government and people. In Kerala, the communication channels are open, trust between authorities and janta is at an optimum level because trust and confidence building measures are done at regular intervals and not only during crisis, people take preventive measures because they have been very clearly told what they are supposed to do. The Bihar government has only now asked for a research on the socio-economic condition of the parents of the nearly 100 children who have lost their lives, despite encephalitis outbreaks happening annually.

What can doctors do in such a situation? They are the most important link in the healthcare chain, but they cannot perform when every other link (for example, Government hospital infrastructure, day-care units, supportive cares, public sanitation, population control, disaster management etc.) is not in place. And mass awareness is not only necessary to take care of physical health, taking care of the mental health of the masses is as important. Most relatives of patients too don’t want to lash out at the medical staff, but when they are breaking down, they need something to hold on to. As a society all of us need to come together and help each other, so that such violence and agitation do not take place again and at such regular intervals. I wish we had better anger management systems in place. Also, one more issue needs to be pointed out. The rural population first resorts to quacks and home remedies (gharelu nuskhas) and come to doctors only when everything fails, and their bodies are on the verge of breaking down.

Mamata Banerjee, as an individual has her heart and intentions in right place but as Trinamool supremo she couldn’t live up to our expectations due to the corrupt practices of her party workers. She thinks after speaking and not the other way around, leading to a number of confusions and unnecessary chaos. She needs to be a little more patient and a good listener while handing such important matters as the recent doctors’ strike. Perception matters a lot in the times of social media and one should think a lot before speaking anything that might make a crisis go out of hand.

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Nisarga Biswas, 24, a junior resident at Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College, Kolkata, recalls the June 10 night when the hospital was attacked. He stresses that doctors try their best to save lives despite limited healthcare infrastructure.

On June 10th, around midnight, a patient on the verge of death was brought to the hospital. My junior colleague, who was working in the medicine department tended to the patient. He gave him a lifesaving drug, tried his best, but unfortunately the patient passed away. The aggrieved family did not take the news well. An altercation broke out between the doctor and the kin of the deceased patient. In no time, 200 people entered the hospital premises and started vandalising and pelting the facility with stones. A stone hit my junior colleague, who got critically injured.

For the past few years, the frequency of such incidents has increased, not only in West Bengal, but all over India. It has become the usual drill. A patient falls sick, the doctor tries his best to treat him/her despite a pathetic infrastructure. The moment something goes wrong, the doctor is blamed for it and thrashed. This holds true for private facilities as well, where the infrastructure is still a tad better.

A death is a grave event. Not only for the family of the patient, but even for the doctor. I am also someone’s son/ brother/nephew/ friend, I do understand human relationships and losing a loved one can shatter you. And this ability to empathise, makes me, well… just more human and not God. I cannot place my finger on a patient’s forehead and heal him/her. We, doctors have studied medicine and there are certain protocols that we need to follow. But more often than not, because of poor infrastructure, we are unable to perform.

For instance, if a patient is having convulsions and I am working as a junior doctor, I would ask the nurse for a particular drug. But if the nurse tells me that the drug is not available, I am rendered helpless, without too many options. My job is not to ensure that the medicines are in stock. I need to have the proper equipment to perform my duty.

In the absence of a proper infrastructure, we were forced to approach the chief minister, who is also the health minister of West Bengal. We wanted the chief minister to condemn the act and make it clear that no one can hit a doctor, period. Taking law into our hands resorting to violence is not our democratic right and can, in no way, pass off as a form of protest.  

For seven days, we went on a strike. The healthcare delivery system was in turmoil. We, doctors were not at all happy about it. But we also believe that we needed to take this radical step to convey a message that we have had enough.

A doctor-patient relationship is a beautiful one. It grows with time and builds on trust and empathy. Poor infrastructure, lack of a dedicated patient grievance and laws on medical ethics has made our job difficult. Lack of security in hospitals makes it worse for us.

After our talks with the government, which was televised widely, I am hopeful that we have at least been successful in conveying our message to the people at large. This, despite efforts of giving our movement a communal and political colour. We kept our spines straight and did not bow down to these efforts and kept the movement apolitical. However, I am still skeptic about the implementation.

People hardly bother about the protocols that are already in place. For instance, doctors, have time and again reiterated to the administrative authorities that only one person can accompany a patient. But look at our wards, they are swarming with people. At least five or six people accompany one patient, making it difficult for us to work. I wonder if they are even aware of the rule. This is a small issue, but can create a ruckus in case of any untoward incident.

Now that the strike has come to an end, we have resumed work and are available 24×7. Doctors are nothing without patients. Our patients are our teachers and we love our work. Through our work we have been able to cure so many people, bring a smile on the faces of patients, who had lost all hope. All this, in spite of a crashed infrastructure. Unfortunately, during the strike, I realised that several sections of the society refuse to acknowledge the good work we have already done.