Doctors take on ‘biased’ media

“When an earthquake struck Latur in 1993,numerous doctors went to help the victims without worrying about fees. How many lawyers went and set up camps to help people who had lost their homes? How many journalists who went to report sacrificed their allowances? The problem is perceptions act like evidence against doctors,” Dr Saibal Chakroborty,speaking for the motion,said.

Journalist Debashish Bhattacharya gave various instances of how negligence by doctors has ruined lives. “Six months back at SSKM Hospital,a doctor operated on a patient’s right leg when the procedure was to happen on the left one. What will the media write? It’s role is of an informer and that is what it does,” he said.

Dr Kunal Sarkar,senior consultant-cardiac surgeon and vice-president of R N Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences,Kolkata,pointed out that media is biased but with valid reasons. “I’m not ready for this fight between doctors and journalists. This is a sort of intellectual cannibalism. The media is biased because it acts as a reflection of society. I worry about the health of our profession and strongly feel that serious and honest introspection is needed,” Sarkar said.

One doctor spoke against the motion. Surgeon Dr Krishnendu Mukherjee said,“The role of the media is to question and criticise. However,this bias against doctors is more about a popular perception,which is a global phenomenon. But this is on a collective level,not on a personal level.”

Other panelists included fashion designer Agnimitra Paul,journalist Swati Bhattacharya,Dr Indrajit Sardar and teacher Chaitali Maitra. Earlier two books,Heart Bhalo Rakhar Art,a guide on heart care,and Nijer Asukh Nije Saran,a self-help book on combating common ailments and home remedies,written by health writer Sujata Mukherjee were released here. Former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly,author Shirshendu Mukherjee and Dr Sukumar Mukhopadhyay,who was also the moderator,were present at the launch.