HYDERABAD: Rising instability coupled with violent reaction from relatives of patients was forcing doctors to take tough decisions like leaving the country.
Doctors who faced violent reactions from relatives of patients or had to work for bare minimum wages were either thinking of quitting the profession or moving abroad to advance their careers.
This also cause for people not to pursue medical studies, according to experts.
The last decade recorded immense growth in healthcare as the sector turned profitable. Consequently, came the corporatisation of the health sector. “In good old days, the doctor-patient relationship was very personal. Then pundits introduced a word called ‘target’ in corporate healthcare, which is not healthy in itself. Doctor can operate when there is need and not because anybody is ‘target’. All these unhealthy practices are growing, leading to frustration among the medical fraternity,” said Dr Kasu Prasad Reddy of Maxivision.
Among the various reasons cited by doctors for leaving the country are working conditions, threats, risk or tension and less money. Dr Hari Prasad, president of Apollo Hospitals, said, “Primarily, every doctor wants good working conditions and job satisfaction. Money is among the tertiary reasons to leave the country.
With increasing activism against medical profession by public or media or policy makers, things are becoming more difficult.”
Deaths as a result of complications are common. While most countries tend to offer stability, doctors’ lives are at risk here. “Any doctor in India has to work 24x7. Social life for doctors is unimaginable. Despite all this, people blame doctors for every small thing,” he said.
