Shahid Majeed Mir Doctorate
The Health sector of each state is administered by state government in country. Jammu and Kashmir also regulates and controls health sector through public investment and regulations.
The Health department overlooks the health policies and laws framed to keep people healthy. There’s a hierarchy of Hospitals and medical institutions.
However the private sector rise apart from public sector extended its reach to the above sector as well. In our backyard the private sector is very well flourished in health dimension of society.
The private hospitals have been established at various district headquarters.
Apart from this practice the local tradition of single-clinic-cum-single – Doctor is widely prevalent.
This practice involves a big chunk of professionals who try private ways to advance their business interests.
These private clinics are out of regulation and therefore work on their own whims and fancies. Although the practice is good and reachable at one’s own will but the practice is emerging bane for society now.
On the one hand these clinics charge unbearable fee while on the other lucrative business attracted some fake Doctors in its composition.
In recent past the unique uncovering of fake Doctors is dangerous and speaks volumes about uncontrolled private clinics. Is Health a buying and selling commodity like cell phone ? Has profession lost work ethic? Is business superseding humane quality of living world?
The rising trend of Fake Doctors in Kashmir is unheard off in the hyped civilised world. A Doctor with written degrees of MBBS on advertisment board at the clinic checking flood of people was caught recently.
The subsequent uncovering of facts revealed a horrifying educational qualification of mere 10th grade student who failed miserably in the education sector. He therefore turned the tide towards medical profession by choice.
As per reports the person is believed to have a wide reach in district that followed the prescription urged by the Doctor. He is believed of having a decade long settlement there.
In latest reports one more fake Doctor with fake code of MD has been caught. After the entire question which emerged hotbed issue is revolving round two points of concern. Either there’s is loss of work ethic or there’s penchant for business.
These two narratives are interwoven like cobra. One supporting the other in complex chain of events.
The Religious script of Muslims “Holy Quran mentions “Either there is instability due to penchant for heir or there’s penchant for wealth ” which translates to ” Yaate maal fitni natei aawlaad fitnee”.
There’s a complete segregation of ethics and morals from today’s working style.
Everything has become a machine which needs mechanical energy to function. This segregation leads to condition where fake degrees and fake Doctors becomes a norm.
Human beings are having cognitive ability which helps them to distinguish between right and wrong. It helps to them to prefer bad over good and true over false.
Since the reality is showing dichotomy in this link, there’s a need to rethink the strategy. Human beings are mortal with inevitable death along with them everywhere.
Thus the presence of fake Doctors is in itself a great tragedy befallen on us. The life of man is missing value at great pace due to the activities of such elements inimical to health of society. Human development index is pillared on Standard of Living.
The society where Doctors are 10th pass and clinics are unregulated speaks its rank itself. The presence of such elements plays with life and blood of millions who toil hard to make both ends meet.
The charging of high costs at private clinics amplified by presence of fake Doctors is nothing less than a tragedy for common man.
The mushrooming growth of private clinics and medical agencies is putting the valuable health of our society at risk. The question most often asked is the prevailing crisis in health sector despite a good arrangement on papers.
The institutional hierarchy established through public investment fails to check the growth of such immoral activities due to mismanagement and loss of ethics.
A Doctor of government institutions has fixed appointments in the morning and evening for private clinics where only blue blood bear the brunt.
And if they visit hospital the insincere attitude pushes public to look towards private clinics. The absence of efficiency merit and integrity regulations in medical institutions provides the existing Doctors scope for such activities.
These things repeat in a society where the only end of relationship remaining is business.
The debate doesn’t stops here, Fake Doctors are supplemented by Fake medicines found in abundance today in every nook and cranny of state.
The mushrooming growth of private suppliers illegally dominates the market with fake medicines for profit motive. It’s generally believed in medical profession that fake medicines fetch more profit than pure medicines or branded drugs.
The patients are left at their own mercy due to induction of wrong medicines from wrong consultant. In this case the local compounders as is commonly known in the streets make so thorough the use of fake medicines that the profession seems engaging more youth with meagre educational background.
The majority of local dwellers are illiterate which makes it easy for the men in action to exploit them. In this way the folly committed by these private handlers having me expertise plays with life of man.
There’s an immediate need to derecognize such agencies involved in the said practice. Unless and until strict measures are taken the market of fake medicines is expected to be warm and attractive.
Doctor is an honourable profession in society. But as said by Barker in modified way “the most dangerous period for a bad organisation is when itself out to reform”.
The medical profession is in crisis these days. The onus lies on Government to quickly establish a framework for private clinics and issue a registered license for any such work in future.
A Medical Board under supervision of Director Health services should be immediately established to look into these matters with judicial powers.
A strict regulation module shall be prepared for private clinics to hold them responsible in future. Health sector is priority sector of government, the mere presence of public institutions is not sufficient and the government can’t take refuge in ivory tower.
The need is to make government more responsible and responsive towards common people. In the immediate urgency a fresh look is necessary with help of police to kick these elements out of business. However it’s an excuse to make government burdensome by expecting everything from its machinery.
There’s a need of reviving traditional link of Hakeem and his hikmat with bimar and his Bimaari. Unless and until the morals guide us in philosophy of life there will be follow up of such events in future as well. We should develop a sense of value correlated with life of every human being.
Let’s hope the moral consciousness prevail in future to save the health of society.
*Writer Shahid Majeed Mir hails from Misribehak Machil Kupwara and can be reached at [email protected]
