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Fair UNICEF Assignment

Five infants died in a fire at a government hospital incubator unit due to alleged negligence. The Chief Minister provided compensation of Rs. one lakh to each deceased infant's parents. However, compensation does not address the systemic issues plaguing government hospitals, including chronic underfunding, poor infrastructure and training, political interference in appointments, and lack of accountability. Morale is low among hospital staff who see patients as supplicants rather than people they are meant to serve.

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Neeti Dauneria
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68 views5 pages

Fair UNICEF Assignment

Five infants died in a fire at a government hospital incubator unit due to alleged negligence. The Chief Minister provided compensation of Rs. one lakh to each deceased infant's parents. However, compensation does not address the systemic issues plaguing government hospitals, including chronic underfunding, poor infrastructure and training, political interference in appointments, and lack of accountability. Morale is low among hospital staff who see patients as supplicants rather than people they are meant to serve.

Uploaded by

Neeti Dauneria
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Five infants were burnt to death after a fire broke out in the

incubator due to the alleged hospital negligence at the Neonatology


Unit of Government hospital in Patiala, Punjab on 31st Jan 2009.
Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal had immediately released a
sum of Rs one lakh to the parents of the deceased infants.
How many times will Govt. save itself by granting compensation
which zip the mouths of miserable poor ? As every Indian knows:
No one in their right mind and with enough money will opt for
government healthcare in government hospitals. Their reputation is
well warranted, with chronic overcrowding, under-funding, poorly-
trained support staff of peons and ward boys, insufficient security
and facilities which do not meet the demands of the poor who
frequent these institutions. To make it worse, in times of crisis,
government hospitals are frequently overwhelmed with a sudden
influx of patients who overwork an already struggling
infrastructure. (photo of crowd)
India spends less than 2% of its GDP on health and it shows in the
conditions of its government hospitals (Source: Quality and Safety
in Healthcare in Indian Hospitals by F D Dastur). However, the
middle class turn to the private sector for their health needs. But
even these are not subject to any healthcare standards and you
either like it or lump it!
(The sorry state of government hospitals
About five years ago, a patient who underwent a trans-abdominal
tubectomy at the Cuddalore district headquarters hospital in Tamil
Nadu, died due to complications. It turned out that the surgeon had
injured her intestines and failed to recognize this after she
developed abdominal distension and vomiting in the post-operative
period. By the time he called for help and another operation was
performed, the patient was in poor shape. The patient’s husband
approached the courts, which recently ruled that the doctor was
criminally negligent and ordered his arrest.)in box.

One must remember that till as recently as fifteen years ago, the
Government General Hospital was the premier institution in India.
This was the place where many Chief ministers of the state were
treated. Today even minor political flunkeys do not use
government health services.

A combination of events brought about this situation. Beginning in


the 1970s and continuing till today, a large number of doctors
returned from abroad and the large corporate hospital came into
being. Most of these were given substantial concessions – in short
they were given subsidies from public money. From the late ‘60s,
appointments to the government services in general, and the
teaching hospitals in particular, have been done more on political
considerations than on merit. Perhaps knowing the quality of the
people they have put into important positions, the politicians prefer
to utilise the services of other doctors! The poor, sadly, have no
choice. It appears that since they have no personal benefit from the
government hospitals any more, the politicians now do not care
what happens there.
Today, it is found that the bedsheets and the pillow cover are so
filthy that even a kitchen rag would have looked better. The toilets
keep stinking, the beds are overcrowded and the whole ward
resemble that of a morgue than a hospital.(photo of bed h8)

To satisfy the illiterate patients the government doctors have


developed a tendency in them that injecting a bottle full of glucose
is a must process to cure to any disease . Thus, be it a bed or a
bench number of people are found like mushrooms taking glucose
dose in these hospitals . You can only get the best if you get
admitted on a VIP quota. For a common man it is better to die than
be treated here. (photo of bed h2)

Common Irregularities
*Medicines unavailable- 52%
*Doctors suggest a visit to their private clinic -37%
*Doctors refer to private diagnostic centers-31%
*Over-prescription of medicines-24%
*Bribes demanded by staff-20%
*Diagnostic tests are done even when unnecessary
-18%
*Doctors are absent-13%

(a part of the floor of the thoracic ward in the Government General


Hospital, located on the first floor, caved into the ward below. One
patient was killed and nine people including two doctors were
injured. Fortunately, the ward below had been evacuated for
renovation. The government’s response was to order
compensation, and, in an extraordinary act of callousness to state
that the patient was critically ill anyway! Nobody explained how
this was relevant to the fact that he had fallen to his death in an
institute where he had come for treatment.) in box.

This style of functioning has a terrible effect on morale. The


employees of the medical services, from sanitary cleaner up to the
director of medical services, by and large, seem to forget that the
patients are the only reason that they are there. The users of
hospitals are seen as supplicants, and anything done for them a is
“favour”. The concept that patients and medical service providers
are part of the same society, and that the services are paid for out
of taxes that everyone pays, does not seem to have been
understood by most of the medical staff.

This is the outcome of the liberal democracy adopted by the left


front where the people are aware of their rights but careless about
their duties.

A few attempts were made by the Indian Hospital Association


(IHA) but didn’t have many takers. Even the National
Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers
(NABH) was instituted nationally for all hospitals in India. The
board has representatives from local as well as national
Accreditation Committees, Technical Committees, Appeal
Committees, Secretariats as well as an unbiased opinion from 100
independent members like clinicians, hospital administrators, as
well as nursing supervisors.
There are already 30 applicant hospitals of which two have been
accepted and the rest are undergoing evaluation .
One major fact which is very disturbing is that the association of
government doctors does not protest this state of affairs. It is
patently demeaning and demoralising for a group of highly trained
professionals to participate in this huge hoax being perpetuated on
the patients. whenever government doctors go on strike, there has
been no sustained effort to improve the working conditions in the
government hospitals.
It appears that the government see it as some form of huge
corporation whose purpose is to make profits! If the government
wants to render better service to the people first it should free the
hospitals of politics. Everybody working in a hospital should be
accountable for his or her work and there should be full
coordination between the administration and the management. The
state Health Minister should work as a CEO of the entire medical
system. He should inspire in others a value system with patient
care and satisfaction orientation.

Perhaps, the most important factor that will change the sorry state
of the public medical system is pressure from the public. It would
be wonderful, however, if doctors were a part of the move for
change.

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