Editor,
The passing away of Dr John L Sailo, owner of Bethany Hospital Shillong has shaken and saddened many. This includes patients he treated throughout decades of service and others in social circles who have seen his valuable contribution to society beyond that related to his profession. He was a thorough gentleman and never was always ready to accommodate and help people to the extent possible. .
Dr Sailo was a very popular doctor in the state known for his high degree of professionalism and deep compassion as often exhibited through his gentle approach and kind and sympathetic understanding of patients. The Shillong Bethany Hospital and the outreach programs he extended through the hospital at Nongpoh, the OPD services in Umsning and in Byrnihat are living testimonies of his compassion, care and commitment to provide the best healthcare possible for the people of the state .
The people of Meghalaya, and the North East have lost a kind hearted doctor who has healed many and was also much trusted. He will be immensely missed. May he rest in eternal peace and may God’s continued presence and grace support and strengthen his family now and always.
K L Tariang,
Via email
Violation of Patient Privacy
Editor,
A document listing names and other details of patients was shared on Whatsapp and some of the readers may have come across it. The names were of those who went to the OPD and Emergency of Bethany Hospital from March 22 to April 14, 2020 Names of relatives and friends were listed along with their private details like phone numbers, addresses, gender and age, marital status, etc. which is a blatant breach of privacy. I am not aware of the government making this information public. And if it did, I don’t believe it would do it in such a callous and inappropriate manner which discloses private details of citizens. If that list was to be made public it should have been handled with utmost care. I trust the government would have done so in a more respectful manner.
I understand the need for contact tracing for those who were in the hospital during those dates and the government has given a notification in that regard for those individuals to contact the authorities and take self-quarantine precautions themselves. But leaking the document (which is most probably from someone with access to that information, whether government officials or health workers) is a blatant disregard of privacy and more dangerous because it can lead to threats of ostracization (considering reports of such a thing happening has been reported) of citizens, social stigmatization and maybe even public shaming and vigilantism from unscrupulous individuals and groups.
I have made an official complaint regarding this to the concerned authorities and I hope that such leaks do not happen in future. The public should be sensitised in these difficult times to be more humane, understanding and to respect those who have been affected, including their privacy.
Yours etc.,
A concerned citizen
Name withheld on request
One Ideology, One Humanity, One Fight
Editor
When we gaze at the world now, we see that it is under the grip of the invisible and dangerous virus called the coronavirus. This virus seems to put an end to human existence in the world. Many countries have proclaimed that this virus is worse than the Second World War. In the Second World War we knew who our enemy was but in this coronavirus war we don’t know the enemy. This situation and problem ushers in suspicion, hatred, anger and fear in various continents, countries, states, societies and among world leaders. Almost all the leaders of the world are raging against China. They all blame China for not revealing and informing the outbreaks of this deadly coronavirus in time. Countries like Japan and the US have withdrawn and shifted their mega companies and business projects to their own soil and have even planned to build them in other countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, and India.
The United States under the leadership of Donald Trump has also halted funding to the WHO Usually, the US used to be in the forefront in trying to solve every epidemic or health crisis. In 2014, when the Ebola virus hit West Africa, the US was the one that rescued Africa to fight against this terrible virus. In 2008, when the economic crisis crippled the world economy, again it was the US that led all the major economies to come up with a common plan. Now the US seems to have resigned from its jobs of being global leader and the Trump administration plainly tells the world that it no longer cares for humanity but only for America first. Now the US is leading in the number of deaths from the coronavirus and also the largest number of sick people in the world. So there is no global leadership and global plan of action to think and work together as one. When we compare this with the previous epidemics that had happened in the world, we are better placed now with better scientific knowledge and well- equipped technology to fight and stop this pandemic.
In the past when pandemics like the Black Death struck Europe and Asia in mid-1300s we learnt that people could not understand what was going on with them. They thought that God had punished them and many lost their lives. But now people know and understand everything about the coronavirus. They know how it spreads and how to prevent it from affecting us. Therefore, what we have to do now at this critical juncture is to have one ideology, one humanity and one fight by putting aside all our ego, pride, anger, suspicion, disunity, despair and put on the armour of humility, love, hope, unity, team- spirit, respect and care for one another for the good and well-being of the whole humanity. We also need to pull down our ideology of “Me first motto” and propose the “We first motto” so that we may be able to stand and fight together as one in mind and heart against this deadly coronavirus disease. Only then we can proudly say that we are human beings living under one earth.
Your etc
Elvis Kharkongor
Via email.