вЂњHowever, a substantial proportion of, and in some areas even the majority of private providers might be unqualified or under-qualified.вЂќ вЂњPrivate practitioners are now, therefore, the first point of contact in both rural and urban areas for many ailments, including fever and acute illnesses, care of small children, and treatment of diseases such as tuberculosis,вЂќ said the parliamentary report. The Union Health MinistryвЂ™s 2014 data show that 70 per cent of out patient care and more than 60 per cent of inpatient care remain in the private sector. вЂњWe are trying our level best to move doctors to rural areas because these areas too require good healthcare services.вЂќ They donвЂ™t get good facilities for their families such as education and ease of living as they get in urban cities,вЂќ said a senior health ministry official.

вЂњDespite several benefits, doctors donвЂ™t want to go to the rural areas because of various reasons. Relaxations such as giving 10 per cent marks to the medical students serving in villages have not proved to be effective. The Medical Council of India (MCI) amended the Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2000, to reserve half of the countryвЂ™s postgraduate diploma courses seats for those who have served three years in remote areas. But, when I started working there, I fell in love with my work and the people who were poor and had nowhere to go,вЂќ said Dr Firdous Ahmad Bhat, who served in KashmirвЂ™s strife-torn Machil region. вЂњInitially I was reluctant to go to Machil. I never tried to look for a job in urban area,вЂќ said Dr Deb, who spent his entire life, working at various impoverished rural pockets of West BengalвЂ™s South 24 Paraganas district. Thus, I decided to practice in the rural parts only.

They are deprived of modern medical facilities as well as expert hands. вЂњI know how helpless most of these villagers are when someone from their families falls sick. While financial stability remains a key worry for healthcare experts in the countryside, 70-year-old Dr Saurindra Mohan Deb said he never felt the urge to practice in urban areas to make more money. The NGO tries to ensure that no mother or child dies due to lack of medical attention. We lose sight of the larger goal - why we got into medicine,вЂќ said leading uro gynecologist Dr Aparna Hegde, who also runs the NGO ARMMAN. But along the way, we lose that idealism. вЂњEverybody enters the field of medicine for an idealistic reason вЂ“ we all want to serve the society. There are a few medical experts who are driven by idealism. The incentives offered to doctors by the government to work in villages have failed to be a draw in a country where a pizza reaches the destination sooner than an ambulance.

Dr vivek mohan dmg