New Delhi: IMA is observing this year as centenary year of medical events in India. The 1st Medical Conference was organized in 1917. In the last 100 years, the contribution of IMA cannot be ignored, may it be eradication of diseases like Polio or achievement of Millennium Development Goals. But over the past few years the medical profession is facing a lot of problems which, if not looked into this moment, will harm India’s commitment of achieving sustainable development goal.
To make the nation and the Prime Minister aware about the atrocities faced by the medical profession, IMA in association with all other Speciality Organisations is organising DilliChalo movement on Tuesday 6th June starting from 8.00 am at Rajghat. Doctors from all the States in the country in large contingent will be reaching Rajghat to show their solidarity to the medical profession.
Over 60,000 doctors have already signed their consent to participate physically and digitally in the movement. It is expected that over 75,000 doctors will participate in the event on 6th June. IMA has selected 6th June because of first ever civilian disobedience movement by Mahatma Gandhi was started on 7th June.
IMA wants all its problems to be solved in 6 weeks’ time. Letters have been sent to all the concerned authorities including Prime Minister of India to intervene in the matter at the earliest.
IMA has 8 lakh practising or serving medical doctors in the country. One percent of it will be 8 thousand. As per 100th monkey phenomenon, 1% of the collective consciousness of people decides what 99% will do. Sixty thousand IMA members have already signed the petition which is 7.5% of medical professionals, that is way above the critical mass required (of 1%).
According to IMA president Dr KK Agarwal, this shows that the whole medical profession is concerned about atrocities faced by the profession and they are not allowed to work in a fearless atmosphere.
All these years we have been practising individual patient centric medicine using all social determinants of health and prescribing drugs, investigations and line of treatment based on individual patient’s interest.
"But now we are being forced to follow outdated standard treatment guidelines made by “experts” with possible no experience of working in the filed of private sector," Aggarwal said and added, "We are being forced to write drugs, the quality of which is to be decided by the pharmacists and practice line of management based on non-practical guidelines."
"We are also being forced to charge fixed fee decided by the government which ignore the seniority and acumen of the doctor. We are also been given targets by many private hospitals and government setups.When we did MBBS it was with the understanding that this is a noble profession and hospitals are temples of healing where the sick come to get relief from pain and misery," he said.
"Medical Doctors always have been considered next to God. We never think of temples as a place of criminal activity. Then why doctors are being accused of criminal actions and calling of police is now becoming a routine procedure, whenever there is dispute or death.Doctors’ job is to provide treatment and work in the interest of the patient. Death does not mean negligence. Why Section 304 and 304(a) even are being considered by the police directly? The answer to all this is Single Window Accountability. Unless the State Medical Council or the Medical tribunal feels that there is gross medical negligence, section 304/ 304 (a) should not even be considered," IMA president said.