MyVoice is to lift up the voices and experiences

The worrying issue of attacks on doctors

This has reference to "Poor doctor- patient contact root of hospital brawls, opine experts" (THI,12/7). Lack of communication between patient's family members and doctors and hospital staff is just one cause but not the cause.

There are many instances where there was good communication and better relations between a doctor and patient's family members at the time of admission and if everything goes well no problem but if any complication or death during treatment ,there starts problem and attacks on doctors and hospitals even though everything was explained to all.

The problem with people is , nobody digests and accepts deaths in hospitals as everyone feels that, the moment one gets admitted in a hospital the patient should leave the hospital hale and healthy but not as a dead body! Inspite of counselling and telling about the seriousness of the patient and less chances of survival, family members never digest death or any further complication and start blaming the doctor and hospital.

In the recent case of Global Hospital in Hyderabad, there was video recording of counselling about the patient and treatment and all accepted but when death occurred the family members attacked doctors and hospital.

In some cases ,if referred to a higher centre they refuse to go mostly in peripheral hospitals and if death occurs they blame the doctors. Further about doctor patient relationships even though a doctor attending on patients for years together all family members ,if any complication or death occurs there starts harassment forgetting the goodwill maintained between doctor and family members for so many years. This shows they never accept death!

Another angle to hospital brawls is whenever a complication or death occurs in any hospital ,the immediate relatives go to back seat and the local politicians and goons enter the scene and attack hospital and blackmail doctors and hospital for huge amount which will be shared among all.

In some towns ,there are professional gangs waiting for any deaths in hospitals and blackmail the hospital. There are caste based associations entering field to blackmail doctors. Inspite of good doctor patient relationship initially ,if any adverse thing happens this goodwill disappears and ill will starts in spite of past goodwill between doctor and patient.

Though good doctor patient relationship might dilute hospital brawls to some extent but in most of the cases this relationship of past never brings good results if any complication or death occurs thus this relationship is only temporary and result based irrespective of past good relationship. Even in corporate hospitals where there are many management professionals ,there were many incidents of physical attacks thus in an emotional atmosphere of death in a hospital if family members do not digest death, these management experts are of no use.

So medicos and hospitals in these days are in a very stressful , tense situation as all afraid of any untoward incident at any time if any problem arises during treatment which pushes medicos to go defensive treatment and Avoiding serious and high risk cases which ultimately affects patient and family members.

Unless a total transformation in the mindset of people takes place for total faith in doctor and hospital accepting all outcomes of treatments with good heart ,there will not be good and bold medical services to the society. Of course, any complaint of negligence, error or carelessness during treatment can go to different courts and get justice if negligence proved.

Medical science is uncertain one and anything might happen between cup and lip. Treatment and good outcome depends on the disease, response to drugs, assistance from para medical and nursing staff, cooperation of patient and family members. Same disease manifests differently in different people.

Same drug for same disease works differently in different people. Sudden changes seen in physiology of patient with complications which are unexpected but doctors try to bring normalcy but in spite of best efforts doctor may not succeed. It never amounts to negligence but common man, family members, media never understands this but blame the doctors.

If a healthy farmer commits suicide and dies in Dist Collectors office no one is attacked. When intermediate students who were healthy committed suicides no one from inter board attacked. But when a person with disease dies during treatment doctors and hospital are attacked.

It does not mean that for any death for any injustice anywhere ,someone should be attacked. But why medicos are isolated and subjected to physical attacks during their service for any problem? What a society we are living in!

JP Reddy, Nalgonda

Our roads will continue to be death traps

Despite several measures, including awareness campaigns like road safety workshops in schools, colleges and work places , being taken and organised by the authorities, roads of the cities are severely plagued by accidents, both fatal and non-fatal.

Over speeding, reckless driving and drunken driving major causes for snuffing out of lives on the roads. Obviously, it would be too simplistic to blame the infrastructure or governance for the increasing number of road mishaps.

It is clearly a reflection of how much we respect the ways of the road as citizens. As per the latest reports from the Government of India and the World Health Organisation (WHO), road crashes are the number one cause of death for people in the age group of five to 29 years in India.

This means that the most productive age-group in our country, the catalyst of our economy composed of countless is getting wiped out by a violent but an entirely preventable cause of death. It is not surprising, therefore, that the annual economic loss suffered by India due to lost productivity, combined with the forced burden on our police, courts, healthcare, and insurance systems, amounts to a monumental three percent of our GDP or Rs 4.3 lakh crore every year.

The question you may ask then is - Why is this issue not a top priority for our government and citizens? The Supreme Court of India has indeed called road crashes a "National Emergency", directing the government to take urgent measures to control the menace. The government, both at the Union and State level, has initiated some action, but the alacrity and political-will that a mass killer of this proportion deserves, is visibly missing.

In a way we would assume that the state would take care of the basic needs and safety of the people, the majority of whom are poor. After all, that is why we go through a massive ritual called elections, where we cast a vote for a group of men to govern, not rule us.

However, it caused me deep grief and anguish to see that in the recent bus accident on Yamuna Expressway as many as 29 people died. The driver apparently fell asleep. In Himachal Pradesh on 20 June, 44 people were killed and 37 were severely injured as a bus fell into a gorge in Kullu district near Banjar. Government is indeed turning a blind eye to what is happening on the ground or literally on the roads of India.

While we have imported high speed vehicles from all over the world, our roads remain what they are, miserable with potholes and there is an explosion of traffic. As the air-conditioned plush Volvo buses advertise their plush seats with seat belts in the photographs, one would assume that they have them.

To my horror, I learned that the buses have only the first row with seat belts, while the rest of the hapless passengers and children – who are particularly vulnerable with lesser body weight to withstand the upward and downward movements of the bus in motion – have to simply do without it.

A quick survey of taxis including the ubiquitous Uber and Ola and the good old neighbourhood taxi stands will reveal that there are no sockets to place the seatbelts in the back! Those have been pushed into the seats or removed so that room can be made for more passengers.

Lucre over-rides safety! A survey at the airport and railway stations will reveal that most taxis will have only seat belts in the front and no functional seat belts at the back, but in case of a hit or a jerk, the unfortunate passenger will go hurtling through the windshield.

The traffic police is not only on the payroll of transport operators but also frequently removes its name plate, by placing their cellphone after raising the flap of their pocket, hiding their names, blithely and shamelessly. This is being done with such abandonment in our cities as they stop hapless drivers to check for 'papers'.

However, most roads even in the cities, do not have pedestrian crossing lights for children to cross safely to their school bus. When we can have so many cow vigilantes, how is it that there are no traffic vigilantes? Nevertheless, as road accidents rise and the toll mounts, the people who are crushed like ants are the people of India. In this melee, who does the bell toll for? It tolls for thee!

Javvadi Lakshmana Rao, Visakhapatnam

Govt should put a cap on car purchases

Declining auto sales by 12-percent in quarter-one of present fiscal-year 2019-20 is a matter of study when not only sale of cars but also commercial vehicles, three-wheelers and two-wheelers has declined significantly.

Considering ever-increasing number of cars in urban areas causing problem of parking and road-space, reducing sale of cars is welcome. But at the same time, sale of alternate mode of travel including passenger-buses, two-wheelers and three-wheelers reflect adversely on economic aspects of the country.

It is time that capping on number of auto-rickshaws in cities like Delhi may be removed to make these available in such plenty (like e-rickshaws) that auto-rickshaw drivers may not afford to deny going to desired destination or over-charging, a usual feature in Delhi which necessitates having cars by middle-income families.

However, sale of big cars occupying more road-space should be discouraged by doubling all government-levies including GST by imposing equivalent cess on cars with ex-factory price of say rupees ten lakhs.

Car loans should not be allowed on such costlier cars. Since charity begins at home, all government-purchase of cars including by public-sector undertakings PSUs should be only from economy-range of cars.

Subhash Chandra Agrawal, Delhi

Implement amendments to POCSO Act soon

The union cabinet's approval of amendments to strengthen the POCSO Act and including death penalty for aggravated sexual assault on children is definitely a welcome move. In today's condition such stringent measures are truly required to deter the rising trend of sexual abuse of children. Stringent punishment should be implemented with immediate effect on sexual predators.

The law should be implemented at the earliest as the plight of our women and children have further worsened with shocking incidents of brutal rape and sexual assaults are occurring every day .

These incidents make the lives of our children ,including girls and boys, more unsafe and fatal and make us ponder where are we moving to ? To the savage era or the cave age era? Though we have moved from the middle ages to the cyber era the status of our girls and women remain the same. Are women and children just pleasure yielding toys and machines?

Unless sex education is included in our education, unless the idea of sex as a taboo subject in our highly orthodoxic community is not eradicated and unless severe punishments are brought into force , we are sure to come across more and more of such terrible cases of sexual crime. It is here that such laws as approved by the centre ,undoubtedly and definitely ,can discourage the trend of sexual abuse by acting as a deterrent.

M Pradyu, Kannur

II

It is really shocking that some 24,000 cases of child rapes have been reported in one corner or the other of the country for a period of first six months in this calendar year. In other words, some 300 rapes are committed daily. This shows the crime rate is abnormally going on increasing without any check day by day. Our laws are not that stringent.

The Juvenile law, the Protection of children from sexual acts law does not hold terror to the culprits. Second, the law enforcing authorities, the Police, also are not that serious to crack the cases. They are deployed for the protection of VVIP's.

Also, the ratio of police per person is very high. One police for 10000 persons says statistics. This is highly not enough to give protection to women or girl children.

Also, the slackness on their part, the prolonged litigation are more accused friendly. Social awareness should be created among our youth against the crime against the fairer sex.

Sravana Ramachandran, Chennai

The defection dramas will not stop

Unless the voters treat the "aya rams gaya rams" as traitors, we would continue to see the game of defection from opposition to ruling party in power. As long as Congress party was in power, the so-called leaders used the party and Nehru-Gandhi name to further their own interest.

Now out of power for two consecutive terms, the netas in groups are flocking to ruling party in power throwing away all principles in dust bin. I recall when Janata Party collapsed and elections were announced late Raja Rameshwara Rao a long time Congress MP from Mahabubnagar was asked by late Indira Gandhi to vacate his seat with offers Ministership and RS seat.

He stood to his ground and fought the election under Janata Party symbol supported by parties opposed to Congress (I). It was a different matter for the first time, he was defeated at the hands of Congress (I) candidate late Mallikarjun. There were many leaders like him who stood on principles.

It was unimaginable for BJP in the past admitting all worthless sundries from other parties ignoring its own loyal leaders and workers. It is surprising that excepting newspapers like yours and few others seems to have lost the courage to raise the issue of mass defection.

N Nagarajan, Hyderabad

II

The recent resignations by various Congress & JDS parties MLAs in Karnataka and Goa has once again made a mockery of Indian democracy. Everyone knows that these resignations are mere eyewash to change the government to make way for BJP to prove full majority in the legislative houses.

This is happening because of loopholes in the Anti-defection law duly passed by parliament. The law needs to be amended in which provision must be made that in case if any elected representative resigns from his party or membership, then he must be declared disqualified as an elected member and he should be banned from again contesting elections for his entire lifetime.

The political parties often get resigned the other party's elected members and again make them contest them upon their own party's election symbol, thereby easily passing through all clauses of the anti-defection law. Only debarring the member from re-contesting elections should save our democracy.

Dr Navneet Seth, Dhuri ( Punjab)

Disappointing Union Budget

The full-fledged budget presented by the Nirmala Sitharaman Finance minister aiming for India to make a $5 TRN economy completely failed because it didn't include the important and key sectors of our economy.

Many people of our country were left with disappointment after watching this budget as they were expecting something new from the Government. And I was surprised after watching her complete speech that no roadmap has been drawn to boost the employment rate in our country.

Our Prime Minister already promised to this nation that he will provide lakhs of jobs every year. Then why this budget ignored the employment sector.

The government should do practical work instead of always making promises.

Our country will become prosperous only if the government is serious in providing enough jobs to the youth. This clearly shows that Government is not serious in providing employment to the jobless people. By this, the budget completely ignored the Education and Health sectors as these sectors needs importance and it required more funds.

These sectors are important the pillars of the good economy. And I wonder how one can make India a $5 trillion economy by ignoring such important sectors. I am also much disappointed to see that there were no strategies and no concrete measures taken to plan the job creations to the youth despite data released by the NITI Aayog that unemployment rate in our country is increasing.

I was expecting a good budget from the Government that can boost the employment sector of India but they left us with disappointment.

Mohammad Ahmed Ali, Hyderabad

Was the Indian cricket team overconfident?

The elephant is worth a million whether alive or dead. So also, Indian cricket team. Semi-final lost but enough political mileage to one political party. Indian team's focus, right from beginning of tournament, was on a campaign for a political party. Be it Balidan logo or Saffron dress or beard or Army haircuts or India in saffron-coloured letters on Jersey.

Had Indian team won in semi-final, probably, it would have been described as yet another surgical strike with same outcome. Time for Indian players to introspect. Be confident but never underestimate other team and never take it for granted that they only are capable of winning the tournament.

Once West indies ruled world cricket, later India, Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and now New Zealand and Bangladesh are aspirants. Best of the game would emerge when game is played for game's sake.

G Sivaramakrishna, Hyderabad

The Rohingya refugee issue

The importance of addressing the main issue of Rohingyas, fleeing from their mainland of Mynamar and ways to find solutions to the problem is a matter of internal concern for that country alone.

With illegal immigrants fleeing into India, it is the United Nations, as a world forum, had to play its role as a big brother and a co-ordinator among the comity of nations and not.

To play the role of a mere spectator. It has to prevail upon Mynamar to take its fleeing subjects back into its fold. For the sin of being a neighbouring nation, India cannot be punished that way.

It is of only secondary importance about the so called discrimination meted to Rohingyas in the matter of according them the status of "refugees".The affected country, for its own peculiar security reasons, can ill-afford to look beyond its security concerns.

Seshagiri Row Karry, Hyderabad

Why can't we interlink rivers?

The rainfall is yet to pick up in Telangana State which is really a cause of concern. But in northern India excess rainfall is recorded and specially North- East states are getting excess rainfall.

Most of the rainwater is going waste and we don't have any scheme to divert the water from north to south states. We need interlinking of the river waters from north to south and east to west, so whenever the excess rainfall occurred we can divert the water through interlinking the rivers.

With this we have to save the water and provide the water to the dry areas for drinking water and cultivation purposes.

Hope Union Government would take the necessary action in this regard and draw the future plan of interlinking the rivers in all over India and make the right use of water.

Syed Nissar, Hyderabad