RAMPANT PROLIFERATION OF UNTRAINED DOCTORS AND DIAGNOSTICS LABS

RAMPANT PROLIFERATION OF UNTRAINED DOCTORS AND DIAGNOSTICS LABS

17-APRIL-ENG 3

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

BHABHUA-------------------------Employees' salaries are fixed; pensions are fixed; train fares are fixed; and even the salaries and terms of office for politicians are fixed. Yet, when it comes to doctors' fees and diagnostic charges, absolutely nothing is regulated. Nowadays, the country is being flooded by untrained doctors. There are no fixed rates for diagnostic tests, no trained technicians at the testing centers, and no fee structure for doctors based on their qualifications. This arbitrary and unregulated manner in which the healthcare system operates ends up claiming countless lives. From Delhi to every remote corner of the country—right under the government's nose, and even in the Prime Minister's own constituency of Varanasi—this game of exploitation continues unabated. Yet, everyone turns a blind eye, and every tongue remains silenced. One simply needs to work alongside a senior or junior doctor for a while to declare oneself a doctor; similarly, one can work at a diagnostic center for a few days and then open a center of one's own. Such "doctors" and diagnostic centers have, over time, established their own empires across the entire nation. There are no prescribed fee structures for doctors based on their degrees, nor are there fixed rates for diagnostic tests based on the specific ailment. In a free and democratic India, it would not be unreasonable to assume that this ongoing charade within the Health Department is tacitly endorsed by the authorities—whether at the central or state level—since this very game continues right under their collective gaze. The prevailing mantra seems to be: "Earn with both hands," even if the public groans in agony and lives are lost in the process. Where exactly are expensive medicines and this exorbitant healthcare system leading a free and democratic India? There appears to be no authority or guardian to oversee this chaos—a vacuum that allows this brazen exploitation within the Health Department to continue unchecked. Furthermore, should a patient unfortunately pass away during treatment, their body is often withheld for several days to forcibly extort money from their grieving relatives. Yet, there is no one to listen to their pleas, and no laws seem to exist to protect them. The government's issuance of health cards has, ironically, led doctors to prolong treatments unnecessarily; in order to drain the entire allocated sum provided by the government, they keep patients hospitalized for extended periods. They release the patient only after the entire balance on the health card has been exhausted. It truly feels as though humanity itself has died—not just among the doctors, but among the politicians as well. Today, if a poor person wishes to consult a competent doctor for treatment, the prohibitive cost of medicines and consultation fees often prevents them from doing so. In such a scenario, one is left wondering: what, then, is the meaning of freedom? What is the point of democracy? It makes absolutely no sense. Day in and day out, a disturbing trend continues: untrained doctors are performing surgeries in facilities that fail to meet standard medical norms. All of this is transpiring right under the very noses of the concerned regulatory authorities—officials who, despite witnessing these violations, choose to turn a blind eye. The critical question—and a matter truly deserving of deep reflection—is this: on whose patronage or authority are these doctors operating with such impunity? These doctors harbor neither fear of the law nor dread of investigative agencies; such is the reality of your democratic system. Furthermore, the recent move to implement a 'zero-reservation' policy for the entry of doctors into medical educational institutions has only compounded these anxieties. It appears that this nation is running merely "on the grace of God," rather than on the strength of its democratic processes; I urge you all to reflect deeply upon this. Incidents involving atrocities against women—ranging from exploitation and sexual assault to murder—are being reported and witnessed in medical institutions with alarming frequency. Yet, in the name of investigation, the process currently underway in this country amounts to absolutely nothing. Under these circumstances, one is compelled to ask: is the Constitution truly being upheld? You must judge for yourselves. As the people often lament: "Life itself has become cheap, while the cost of medicines and the burden of inflation continue to soar."