The Indian immigrant community of doctors here has taken strong exception to a private broadcaster’s remarks ridiculing the condition of health services in some major Indian cities. Commenting on the death of a 45-year-old woman from meningococal disease for alleged want of timely care and attention in a public hospital, the broadcaster said the treatment meted out to the patient was akin to what she would get in a New Delhi hospital rather than in Australia. The remark by the broadcaster, beamed by the radio, irked community of Indian doctors. One of them, Dr Ram G. Iyengar, a post graduate from G.S. Medical College in Mumbai who has been practising here as a general surgeon for the past 30 years, immediately called the radio station to put things in perspective. He told the station of the internationally reputed hospitals in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and other major cities, following which the broadcaster is supposed to have apologised saying he had meant ‘‘hospitals in Africa’’ (and not Delhi). The matter, however, has brought to fore the simmering discontent among the 500-strong Indian medical practioners in South Wales, who are serving as general practioners but are not recognised by specialised medical bodies in Australia. Australia’s ‘point’ system of selecting immigrants discriminates against medical practioners. This is despite the fact that there is a severe shortage of doctors in the country side. (PTI)
