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Striking doctors violating their Hippocratic Oath: PBT
Junior doctors in Patna have started an indefinite “doctors’ strike” demanding a higher scale of payment for their service causing death of numerous innocent patients. While the members of the medical profession joining a “strike” to settle their personal demand against the government and in the process, disrupting the entire hospital function putting the lives of the innocent patients in great peril is unthinkable in the developed countries, “strike” by our healers is not new in India, one shudders to imagine how doctors can easily disregard the Hippocratic Oath of serving the humanity first and simply stop working to satisfy their selfish interest putting the healthcare services in total disarray.
Leaving aside this ethical question, do doctors have a legal right to go on a “strike” putting the lives of defenseless patients in serious danger?
Who should be held responsible for the death of the innocent patients who died as a result of “doctors’ strike”? The government as well as the members of the medical community, who have participated in this “doctors’ strike”, must answer these important questions.
The picture of a “doctors’ strike” is blatantly repulsive anyway you look at it. Even when only the “junior doctors” go on a strike, patients in need of urgent medical care are denied life-saving treatment because the junior medicos form the backbone of healthcare in the hospitals. The most unfortunate aspect of the present junior “doctors’ strike” in Patna is that most of the victims would be the patients who hail from the lower socio-economic strata of the society since they have no choice to attend the pricy private hospitals. One thing is absolutely certain is that the ultimate price of any “doctors’ strike” is always paid by the defenseless patients– sometimes literally through their lives as many patients have already died because of the present strike by the junior doctors in Patna. Obviously, doctors do not have a moral right to go on a “strike” at the expense of the vulnerable patients.
Although there can be no argument that a peaceful “strike” by workers in most jobs is an important tool to fight injustice in the democratic societies. But workers who are involved with providing essential public services like healthcare cannot have a right to go on a “strike” and undermine the safety for the rest of the society. The Article 21 of the Indian Constitution guarantees protection of rights to life and personal liberty for all people. The Supreme Court of India has corroborated this notion many times in the past that the rights to go on a “strike” by some in a single profession can never supersede the combined rights for life and liberty for countless others in the society.
In a historic judgment in 2003 involving the striking government employees in Tamil Nadu (T.K. Rangarajan vs. State of Tamil Nadu; Civil Appeal No. 5556 of 2003), the Apex Court has ruled against the striking workers and categorically said, “Government employees cannot claim that they can take the society at ransom by going on strike.” Obviously, doctors also cannot have a right to go on a “strike” and take the helpless patients at ransom to settle their personal disputes with the government. In fact, doctors in Delhi went on a massive strike to protest against the “quota” resulting in acute disruption in essential hospital services and several patients died waiting for treatment in the Emergency ward in 2006. A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed against the striking doctors and the Medical Council of India (MCI) through a writ petition (People for Better Treatment vs. MCI & Ors; W.P. Civil No. 316/2006) seeking a complete ban on “doctors’ strike”. The Apex Court has already issued notices to the respondent medicos in this case which might have significant implications on “doctors’ strikes” in India.
But even without any repercussions from the courtroom, the “Code of Ethics and Regulations” framed under the MCI Act which is binding on all practicing physicians in India also has strong prohibition against any doctors’ strike. The Section 2.1.1 of the MCI “Codes” has categorically stated that doctors cannot refuse treatment to a patient who is in need of emergency medical care. While a doctor may be able to wriggle out of a situation for his refusal to treat someone suffering from an insubstantial medical condition, he cannot deny therapy under any ground to a critically ill patient. Obviously, the death of several patients following the “doctors’ strike” in Patna is in clear breach of the MCI Rules.
The striking doctors should face disciplinary action from the medical council for violation of the MCI code of ethics. They are also liable for cancellation of their medical licenses for professional misconduct under the MCI Act. In fact, if charges are pressed against the striking medicos for violation of the MCI Act, it would be extremely difficult to defend that a patient was not in need of urgent medical care when he/she actually succumbs without receiving any treatment. Ironically, not many in the medical fraternity are even aware about the intricate MCI rules and regulations and that they must follow the stipulations as framed under the MCI Act.
The junior doctors would be well advised to stay away from “doctors’ strike” as it can lead them to more serious problems. Unfortunately, unlike in the Western countries, the medical council in India primarily functions to shield their errant medical colleagues without caring for the lives of the ordinary people. This is why doctors in India frequently resort to “doctors’ strike” without much fear to settle their score with the government. If previous history provides any indication for the future, it can be safely predicted that the striking doctors in Patna would face no disciplinary action from the medical council no matter how many patients eventually die.
It must also be said that the gripes made by the junior doctors in Bihar demanding a higher salary may also deserve some consideration. It is reported that the junior doctors in Bihar are paid much less than their counterparts in other states. If this is true, they obviously have every reason to be unhappy and to blame the health department. But junior doctors should not resort to a “doctors’ strike” and deny therapy to the ailing citizens even to settle their legitimate demands from the government. Whether or not their strike is able to cause any anxiety for the debauched political leaders sitting in the health department, it can certainly devastate many innocent families who cannot afford to take their loved one to the expensive private medical clinics and would have no choice but to see them dying without any treatment.
The Hippocratic Oath preaches that any financial reward should only be a subordinate consideration for everybody in the noble profession of medicine. The modern day doctors in India should not become totally oblivious of the oath from the father of modern medicine and they should at least ponder once about the pain of the innocent patient left untreated at the hospital doorstep before taking decision to abandon their hospital duty and join a “doctors’ strike”.
Public trust in our healers has been plummeting in the recent years for more reasons than one. Further erosion of the doctor-patient relationship is likely to occur from frequent “doctors’ strikes” in India which only upset the essential hospital services that are already substandard and bring added miseries for the poor patients in India. The trade-union mindset of our medical leaders has no place in modern day medical science.
7 Responses to “Striking doctors violating their Hippocratic Oath: PBT”
Plz tell the address of the organization made by Dr Kunal Sah. What is its name? PET? i guess. Plz let me know the address.
My friend’s wife lost her eye and she complains of negligence at Medical College hospital.
Regards
If hypocrites claim that the doctors are violating their “Hippocratic oath” then they should introspect. So, Dr Kunal Saha, how much do you earn per day including form writing editorials “expressing” the anguish of the common man? Do you have to worry about the fact that your own parent is ill and that you (as compared to a juniour doctor, 25 year old – with 15k pay and NOTHING MORE) are unable to even meet the medical bills? Do you have to worry about being able to buy food and pay for electricity and a phone and transportation and at least the rent of the house and clothes? I guess some people forget their oaths as well. We are fighting to survive. My “per capita” income in WB today is less than 4k pm. Compare that to you or those who directly support you.
The hypocrisy is that your “back bone” is developing a PID with the work and some people of the same fraternity wish to make a quick buck writing editorials on it.
India is paralyzed by political leadership and government employees, and for ommission and commission of these, public has to pay a heavy price. Terms and conditions of anemployment are preset, anybody not agreeing, must not join, or quit afterwards. Thus, no employee has a right to strike. Doctors are bound additionally by the oath they take while graduating. For various issues before Indian masses, please see -
http://indiainperil.blogspot.com
and the solutions thereof -
http://intellocracy.blogspot.com
we docters are also human. we spend whole 24 hrs in hospital fully devoted. we r not God!we do our job with full sincerity without taking care of lunch time or dinner
but we cant work totally empty stomach.we spend a big portion of our life in hospital
docter banne me 10 se 15 saal lag jate hain ise sunkar hi log ghabra jate hain
No one knows patients pain better than us even his relative.someone should take care our pain too.MAHGAI TO SAB JAGAH BARABER BADI HAIN .
I agree that payscale for gpvt doctors in bihar is less compared to other provinces , but jr doctors should help bihar govt by working right now and certainly bihar govt will fulfill their demands too as things in every area is getting better in Bihar !!
Jai Bihar !! Jai buddha !!
Appreciable and ethical advice to the Jr. Doctors.
But Govt. must take wise step to assure to grant demands if jenuine on the basis of pay scale chart of other provinces to avoid any possible disparity.
Better to advice Doctors to take shelter of court in spite of endangering the suffering patients.
dacter pet per patti bandh ker kam ker payega??
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Mr. Malay Ganguly Reply:
January 11th, 2010 at 11:29 pm
Anyone can contact “People for Better Treatment” (PBT), a registered, humanitarian society formed by US-based Dr. Kunal Saha after his wife, Anuradha Saha, died during a social visit to India from gross medical negligence by several so-called “eminent” doctors in Kolkata. in 1998. PBT has been fighting “medical negligence” and helping victims of medical malpractic across India. You can obtain detail information at PBT website at http://WWW.PBTINDIA.COM.
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