NEW DELHI — Dr Sharad Agarwal, National President of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), raised concern about the growing instances of violence against doctors and requested the government to bring a law to protect the medical community.
The IMA chief was speaking to The Healthy Indian Project (THIP).
A survey done a couple of years ago revealed that up to 75 per cent of doctors had experienced some form of violence in their workplaces.
The Epidemic (Amended) Ordinance, 2020, passed in India, gave protection for healthcare personnel combatting Covid.
But Dr Agarwal raised a pertinent question on why violence against doctors should only be considered a crime during the times of national health crises.
"This is the need of the hour. How can a doctor treat a critical patient under stress and under threat? The nation is not realising how serious this issue is. After this, no good doctor will agree to treat a serious patient because they will feel threatened," said Dr Agarwal.
He highlighted that ensuring the safety and security of the doctors is one of the foremost challenges being addressed by the IMA.
The interview given to The Healthy Indian Project (THIP) also covered topics like IMA's stance towards the AYUSH medicinal systems in India.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]Speaking to Anshima Gupta from THIP, Dr Agarwal clarified that Indian Medical Association is not against the practice of any medicine system in India and emphasised their respect for all forms of Indian medicine systems.
"However, we are against 'crosspathy'. Medicines from a certain field should not be prescribed by any person who has not studied it," said Dr Agarwal.
The IMA, the leading organisation representing doctors in India, has consistently opposed the notion of granting AYUSH practitioners the authority to perform certain surgical procedures or prescribe modern medicines.
The IMA chief further said that while the government's intentions regarding AYUSH are commendable, its implementation at the grassroot level needs to be improved.
He further added that the Indian Medical Association, with its wealth of experience, is prepared to collaborate with the government to improve the current state of AYUSH.
The interview conducted by Anshima Gupta for THIP's show, Health Dialogues, had been published recently.
The interview covered various topics including problems around health misinformation, IMA's initiatives like 'Aao Gaon Chale 'and increasing costs of healthcare.
Watch the full interview on www.thip.media.