The practice of medicine is fast turning commercial and some medical practitioners are becoming mercenaries. What drives them is not service but money. In Meghalaya where there is no regulatory mechanism over private hospitals and nursing homes, medical malpractices go undetected. Many patients die, not because of their illness but because of wrong treatment. The recent case of a Liposuction surgery gone horribly complicated has all the ingredient of a medical scam. But who will take this matter forward? What happens to the doctor who conducted the Liposuction procedure but was not around to manage the post operative complications? Can a patient, even if he is an adult be allowed to commit suicide? In the case of Sannjay Sharma he might have wanted the Liposuction done immediately for whatever reasons but should the doctors not take a final call considering other inherent complications in his body?
Is the opinion of the top surgeon of the hospital and its chief medical officer not necessary for conducting a first ever Liposuction surgery? Should he not have been consulted before the operation and kept posted about the condition of the patient which had worsened after 12 hours? There are in fact several grey areas which do not add up and which require an external investigation because hospitals normally want to protect their image and that of their doctors. At this point when a case of medical negligence has been established beyond reasonable doubt it is important for the Government to step in and conduct a thorough enquiry so that similar incidents are not repeated on unsuspecting victims by callous doctors.
Medical professionals are trusted implicitly by patients who come to them with the hope of getting well. It is a breach of trust for doctors to experiment on their patient with multiple drugs which have the potential to cause adverse reactions. And this only because pharmaceutical companies wish that human trials be conducted and because of the goodies they offer doctors, including trips to exotic locales. Indians are by nature diffident about asking questions from doctors and end up swallowing all medicines diligently. This must stop with more awareness. The State Government must set up a regulatory mechanism for private hospitals and strengthen health care in their own hospitals!