*Doctor Uncle, Take Care!*
I am presenting an article that I wrote some years ago as relevant to today’s circumstances. This is the translation of my original write-up in Marathi.
In my childhood, the doctor was an integral part of our family; he was usually referred to as the family doctor. He would treat any ailments we had. There weren't many specialists at that time, and I don't recall ever feeling a strong need for one. Generally, for surgeries, we had to go to the district hospital, but it was always on the advice of the family doctor. The family doctor was like an uncle! We called him Doctor Uncle. Far from fearing him, we were all under the watchful eye of Doctor Uncle. His demeanor was always reassuring, his face cheerful, and his voice sweet, though sometimes he would scold us children! This relationship embodied wonderful family ties that continued until we had our own children. There was no doubt about the doctor's integrity. If something unfortunate happened, the blame would not go to the doctor but to fate.
Those were wonderful days. As we grew older, our friends also became doctors, and one day we received news from one of our doctor friends. A court ruling brought medical services under consumer protection law. This was likely the point where all these relationships began to unravel. Family ties turned into legal ones. Trust was replaced by the law, and understanding was lost as court procedures came into play. It became the doctor’s responsibility to prove that their treatment was correct according to the law. Legal records became a requirement. Pre-operative assessments, post-operative check-ups, treatment records, and all became necessary. This necessitated staff, updated hospital offices, assistants, laboratories for various tests, state-of-the-art equipment, multi-specialty hospitals, and millions worth of machinery, along with the essential air conditioning systems. The maintenance costs of all these, along with the significant sums required to manage them, grew. Rising inflation and increased standards of living led to enormous salaries and fees that were now essential. Everything kept increasing, and ultimately, the burden of compensating all these amounts fell on the patients!
While paying these exorbitant amounts, patients began to demand five-star amenities too. To meet their expectations and attract them, marketing systems and commissions came into play. Bitter experiences arose as patients began paying large sums upfront, depositing money before they would be admitted—a trend that took root. Even hospitals that initially seemed reasonable in their charges began to struggle with controlling staff once costs began to rise. Instances of misconduct from the staff arose, and at times doctors began to overlook them because finding trained staff was becoming difficult. This led to new types of ailments and an increasing number of patients due to the population explosion. This balloon of growth continues to inflate. Where does the fault lie with the doctors? Yet, the responsibility rests solely on them! When the business grows, corrupt practices increase. Just as the government’s business is the largest and thus fraught with corruption because it’s hard to maintain control. Eventually, some private hospitals' conditions became akin to those of government hospitals, yet the fees were exorbitantly more than at government hospitals. The extent of this vicious cycle continues to expand.**Now, the adverse effects of all this have started to become apparent. The relationship between the trader and the customer has long been perceived as one where the trader continuously exploits and the customer gets exploited in return. This notion has been deeply ingrained in our minds for a long time, and now the relationship between doctors and patients has added to that. The experiences of doctors are as valid as those of patients; this is where the growing divide originates.*
When we read Dr. Arun Limaye's 'Chloroform,' we were shockingly surprised. Is that how it is? In truth, if the government and doctors had considered how to curb such malpractice at that time, the scenario would have looked entirely different today, forty years later. Unfortunately, that did not happen. As a result, the malpractice of doctors and hospitals has only increased. The gap between the two sectors of society has widened further.
The specter of doubt in society has taken on a fierce form today. The law and the courts cannot provide satisfactory answers to anything. The law has no emotions, but people do. While a decision may be reached in court, it cannot guarantee justice. The evidential material presented and the logical deductions drawn from it differ among individuals. A person sentenced to death by one court could be acquitted in another. What is the truth? Which judgment is right? We, the common people! Only if we can improve our relationships can we find a way out of this predicament. Can the bonds we shared with our doctor in childhood and our familial relations be restored? Will our grandchildren be able to play on the shoulders of the new doctors as we did with Doctor Uncle? As of now, the future looks dim!
Doctor Uncle, take care of yourself!!!
------------- Sunil Deshpande (9657709640)

Doctor Uncle

occasion: Doctor's Day