Editor,
Apropos your newspaper report, “District hospitals in State face 56% shortage of doctors: CAG”, I would like to draw your attention to the following points that may be worth investigating, in order to address and redress the present lacunae in the health system of our state:
On joining state service the Medical Specialists draw the same basic pay as the Medical Officers who do not possess specialised knowledge and qualifications. The only financial benefit is 5 (five) increments which is added when they have cleared the MPSC. This acts as a disincentive for the specialists who have undergone three years extra studies and training. It also discourages other specialists from joining state service and many have paid the bond money and moved on.
In the Civil Hospital Shillong, a junior specialist is immediately given general duty like in the Casualty Department on joining the hospital. This douses the enthusiasm and intent to provide specialised diagnostic treatment for the patients, who come from the poorer section of the population. This makes the specialists remain in state service only for the required 5 years to abide by the bond they signed and they resign on completion of this term.
General medical officers are like the conventional general physician (GP) who can diagnose and treat multiple diseases within their capability. They therefore, have more experience and perform best in general duties. The specialists are best in their specialised fields.
For operating surgeons, who have scheduled operations for the patients on particular days, they are told that they should adjust duty when they get casualty-duty on these OT (Operation) days. If adjustments (the kind of adjustments are never clarified) cannot be made, the patients who are to be operated have to wait for another day. This affects the patients psychologically and acts as a disincentive to the specialists.
The Civil Hospital Shillong, established years back, should have a hospital administrator who would be in charge of arranging roster duties for Casualty, thereby saving doctors from this administrative work which eats into their clinical work. The available equipments in this hospital and other district hospitals have not been fully utilised because of the haphazard system within the government hospitals. As one orthopaedic doctor said, “My patients hardly recover completely because follow up visits are hampered by the casualty duties thus making me unavailable to attend to these patients”
The above practices have been in force for many years and there seems to be no inclination to change the system. As a result, the doctors, both general and specialised ones, do not have a sense of ownership for the Civil Hospital. In fact this unhealthy system has created work conflicts, within the hospital. The state government ought to do a survey of the hospital system if it wants to make the Civil Hospital Shillong, a referral health institution for the whole state, as stated by the Chief Minister, during the inauguration of the Dialysis Unit in this hospital. If things are left as they are, it seems almost a pipe dream to make the Civil Hospital, Shillong , “an iconic health institution” (Health Minister).
I hope your esteemed newspaper will be encouraged to probe further and highlight these issues within the state health institutions.
Yours etc.,
Darilyn Syiem,
Via email
Good decision by BJP
Editor,
Apropos the news “BJP for post-poll alliance to contest all 60 seats in 2018″ (ST, March 28, 2017), the BJP Meghalaya has taken the right decision to contest alone all 60 seats. The President, Shibun Lyngdoh has appropriately stated that “for the growth of the Party, BJP should go it alone in the 2018 polls and alliance comes after the polls”. The BJP is a national party with a difference which stands for decentralisation of economic and political power. Hence it has rightly taken a decision to contest all seats given the present level of playing field of politics in Meghalaya.
Yours etc.,
VK Lyngdoh,
Via email
On codification of Garo customary practices
Editor,
While welcoming the new adapted Garo Customary Law, I would like to suggest a few points of modification for the next Committee on the above subject. It is seen that the Customary Laws have been modified so that the blood of Garos are not diluted by any means. To further prevent this or to preserve our A.chik culture a number of laws may be added in future so that we remain pure A.chiks. Some points here may help us to maintain our pure Garo blood
1. It should be made mandatory for Garos ( A.chiks ) to eat na.kam ( dry fish ) only, so that no oily curries of non- Garos, pizzas should dilute our pure Garo blood, and whosoever eats the latter should be treated as non -Garo,
2. Garos should travel only on foot as our ancestors who are pure Garos crossed over to Garo Hills from Tibet on foot; they never used buses, planes, railways etc and whosoever travel by these should be treated as non – Garo,
3. Garos who wear western / Indian clothes should be treated as non -Garos as pure Garos wear only gana re.king ( women ) and small piece of cloth ( man ),
4. Pure Garos smoke tobacco on dimbil leaves, so whoever smokes bazaar ciagarettes should be banned from Garo society,
5. Pure Garos ( man ) use mil.am ( Garo sword ) and carries it with him all the time. Whoever doesn’t carry a sword should be treated as non – Garo,
6. Japa Jalimpa, Abong Noga, Gilsang Dalbot the great Garo warriors never used facebook, twitter, mobile phones etc, so whoever uses it should be termed as non Garo,
The above points are suggested to strengthen our Customary Laws so that no foreign ideas creep into our pure Garo mind and body, and whosoever opposes this should be termed as non Garo,
Yours etc.,
Jaycee May Marak
Tura