Doctor No

Over the last two months, two major Indian states 8212; Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra 8212; have witnessed a breakdown in their health system because resident doctors have gone on strike. This is a simply unacceptable situation, precisely because resident doctors are the backbone of the country8217;s public health delivery system, such as it is. The men and women who swear by the Hippocratic Oath, now display a worrisome tendency to resort to these blackmailing tactics at the drop of a stethoscope, knowing full well that it is the hapless patient 8212; already under considerable personal trauma 8212; who has to pay the price.

It is significant, though, that one of the major reasons for doctors in this country going on strike is a widespread feeling of personal insecurity. Bihar has witnessed several protest strikes by the medical fraternity in the wake of the kidnapping of doctors. The junior doctors in Lucknow, Kanpur and Allahabad struck work this January because their colleagues were allegedly manhandled by police recruits on a train. In Maharashtra, too, the immediate cause for junior doctors staying away from work was their reported manhandling at the hands of irate relatives of patients. This then does emerge as a significant problem that demands redress, given the fact that the very nature of the medical profession demands a very active interface with the public institutions that are often emotionally fraught.

So if our doctors need security and our health security needs our doctors, we require to address this concern. Attacking doctors is a bit like hurting the hand that heals us, and it demands an enlightened response from the government, the medical authorities and civil society. At the same time, these men and women trained in the noble vocation of healing should not allow themselves to become puppets in the hands of vested interests. In Maharashtra, for instance, political parties like the Shiv Sena have displayed an alacrity to capitalise on the anger of medical students and junior doctors. This is an unhealthy nexus, to say the least.