In critical condition

The early advent of spring has been accompanied by the strike bug. The All-India Institute of Medical Sciences faculty, Indian Council fo...

The early advent of spring has been accompanied by the strike bug. The All-India Institute of Medical Sciences faculty, Indian Council for Agricultural Research scientists, Air Traffic Controllers 8212; all have struck work with a litany of well-articulated woes, with a host of exasperating disruptions. The most poignant, no doubt, is the daily dose of heartrending tales of critically ill patients drawn from all over the country as they camp outside the AIIMS campus waiting in vain for specialist care. And therein lies the crunch.

As the faculty resorts to a strike for the first time since the institute was established by a special Act of Parliament in 1956, public sympathy for their largely legitimate demands is gradually being eroded by their callous disregard for the 6,000 sick and poor folk who flock daily to them. In fact, just a week into their agitation, the doctors decided to reverse their earlier decision to cater to the needs of the patients admitted before the strike, lest this be taken as a sign ofweakness in their resolve to secure the pay scales recommended by the K.K. Bakshi committee. Does anybody remember the Hippocratic oath?

But then, callousness has never been a preserve of the doctors. The government too cannot wash its hands of the patients8217; plight and the subsequent overload on the capital8217;s other hospitals. The AIIMS strike is far from spontaneous and had been in the air for weeks; surely, the government should have realised the imperative to engage the doctors in negotiations instead of presiding over a drift into a deadlock.

To be sure, talk of the yawning gap between salaries drawn by government doctors and those scooped up by private hospitals notwithstanding, the doctors are seeking rather paltry hikes to ensure parity with the largesse lavished on Central government employees by the Fifth Pay Commission. The government8217;s dilemma is understandable, for it no doubt fears an avalanche of similar demands from other employees; but faced as it is with the twin threats of brain drain andthe mushrooming of private hospitals, brushing aside the sensitivities of experts at the country8217;s premier medical institute cannot be construed as good policy.

The question is, will an increase in emoluments and seniority restore AIIMS to its old glory? Over the years as superspecialists have flown off for greener pastures, at least 40 in the last year alone, money has not been the only issue. A slow but sure politicisation over the years 8212; with MPs accorded a say in promotions and doctors8217; worth calibrated in terms of their proximity to the powers that be, not the merit of their work 8212; has resulted in overwhelming demoralisation.

This depressing state of affairs has been compounded by the AIIMS8217; transformation into primarily a hospital offering treatment for even the common cold, a far cry from its intended objective of being a facilitator of cutting-edge research. The choice before the government is clear: restore the institute8217;s autonomy or simply declare it just another hospital. As is the onebefore the doctors: evince a little more sympathy for the ill and needy or risk public goodwill.