‘Doctors Can’t Work In Unsafe Environs’

Dr Manisha Jain (35) who is pursuing her Doctorate of Medicine at Kolkata’s Nil Ratan Sirkar Medical College, says while better security for doctors on duty will help, it is important for hospital visitors to trust their doctors

A career in medicine comes with its own baggage of pros and cons. When I chose to be a doctor, I was aware of the challenges I would face. The long hours, high levels of stress, and dealing with difficult patients & their families have remained a part of my job. If I do it well, I earn their trust, respect and blessings. But it’s easier said than done.

In my few years as a doctor, I have realised how that earning the trust of a patient is an uphill task, no matter how good a doctor you are. A huge trust deficit exists in the society, which puts us, doctors, in harm’s way — vulnerable to attacks from the agitated kin of patients if anything goes wrong. The question that arises is: can we be assured of a safe workplace?

I am in my second year, pursuing my DM (doctorate of medicine) from Nil Ratan Sirkar Medical College and Hospital (NRSMCH) in Kolkata. I have one more year to go in the City of Joy. Coming from Delhi, I feel there is a stark contrast in the way people treat women here, they don’t judge you by what you wear, or who you hang out with. As a woman I feel safe here. I can use public transport and travel at night. But as a doctor, I feel vulnerable and not just in this city. Doctors all over the country are exposed to threats and attacks.

I felt appalled and scared, when I heard that truckloads of people had entered the hospital premises. There has been a huge security lapse which needs to be looked into. One of our junior doctors, is still critically injured.

While political parties play the blame game and find opportunities to communalise the issue, the underlying fact remains that doctors in this country need a safe work environment. The issue has been brewing for quite some time and not just in West Bengal, but throughout the country — be it government or private hospitals. The incident at NRSMCH and the subsequent doctors’ strike was just the tipping point that has brought the issue into the limelight.

Yes, we need better security services and CCTV cameras, but most importantly, I think, the mindset of people towards doctors needs to change. We live in a world of broad, mindless generalisations. In the case of doctors, there are two main stereotypes — a doctor in a government hospital is inefficient and a doctor in a private hospital is greedy. We need to break these stereotypes. Everything is not black and white, there are shades of grey which our society turns a blind eye to.