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By Chitra Ahanthem
Once upon a time, a trip to a doctor meant a pretty decent time interval where the doctor would take patient history and then follow it up only with required medication instructions. Looking at those times, it is also a matter of great irony that though there were lesser doctors then and few private clinics, there would never be a rush of people waiting for their turns to be medically examined. But they say changes are the only constant of life and the scene has changed and how! For one, the number of doctors and specialized ones has increased and so has the number of private clinics and hospitals and doctors on private service. But along with the number of doctors increasing (and we are talking mainly of urban centers), there is also an ever growing number of people who are becoming inclined towards seeking health services.

There are interesting insights into the phenomenon of seeking health care. There is of course, the fact that people are becoming more aware about the need to be concerned about their health and to take medical opinion. But on the other end of the spectrum is also the fact that urban life styles have added to new medical ailments. Over and above these areas, there is a disquieting tendency for doctors to treat their patients like money spinning enterprises. There is rarely any doctor (doing private practice) in Imphal or for that matter, in the district headquarters who do not charge a set patient consultation fee. Most of these doctors have a family member or a relative manning a sort of ticket table. They allocate serial numbers and take the consultation charge. The going rate at present is Rs. 200 on the first consultation and Rs. 100 for every follow up medical check up. 99.99 per cent of the time, the doctor will give a list of medicines that you have to buy and the ticket attendant will lead you to the in house pharmacy. Chances are also that you will find free doctor samples of medicines being sold.

This piece today is certainly not a chest beating or vitriolic rant against the medical community in Imphal but a mere mirror image of the practices that has become totally normal. It is certainly not a stand-alone practice for the same situation exists in urban areas and cities. But one wishes that there was a standard set of rules or code of conduct and ethics that the medical fraternity here would stick to. Most private clinics that I have seen functioning outside the state have a social responsibility program where they give subsidized health care to senior citizens and people with poor economic backgrounds. I happened to take my son for a surgery for plugging his leaking tear sac at the Nethralaya Eye Institute and was very impressed by the standard of health care and quality that justified with the amount of money they were charging. They had a patient counseling session where they explained the operation and what would follow later on. But what impressed me most was the fact that they had free surgery and medication policy for senior citizens and people from poor backgrounds. For the later, they checked with BPL cards and when I asked what would happen in cases where people do not come with any official documentation specifying that so and so is poor, I was told that the one thumb rule to check such cases was the desperation of people seeking services and the state of their appearance. I was told that it was as simple as that!

Personally, I have nothing against doctors on private practice so long as they are not shirking their Government work timings. It is I as a consumer, and customer and patient party who is aware that I can also seek his service at a subsidized rate at the government hospital where he/she is practicing. And if this “I” feel that waiting at a hospital is not in the order of things, it is only fair that “I” pay for the time that the doctor has devoted to me. But having said that, there are many areas that need to be considered from the doctor’s viewpoint that justifies the money that is being charged for his consultation. For one, it would do well to have a strict order of who gets in first. Very often, doctors have a set consultation time, which is known or announced. Patients troop in and an attendant, who allocates a serial number, takes down their names. But mostly, the serial numbers do not matter because someone they know or some one in their social circle drops in unannounced for a check up. Also, there are certain doctors who will give first priority towards the patients they have been administering at his/her government hospital set up but who follow up with him later on a private consultation basis. This would mean that they would jump the waiting list and ruffle up a few feathers.

End-point:
They say that an apple a day keeps the doctor away but either, something is wrong with the apples or the doctors have become indispensible for on an average basis, about 4 people out of 10 would most definitely be seeking medical attention or consultation at any given time: if not for his own self, for a family member, for a child etc.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/08/doctor-rounds/

By: Neken Singh Seram
“The more our dependence on outside products, the greater is the importance of national highways. As of the present day generation, almost everything we use right from the early morning wake-up to the time we return to bed at night comes from outside the state. Right from tooth brush and tooth paste to clothes we wear, from apples to rice and oil, from school bags to Tiffin materials of children, from vehicles and fuel to entertainment gadgets, everything is imported from outside the state. It is high time people of Manipur explored various possibilities to reduce dependencies on the highways and outside markets. We need to learn use of local products instead of products imported from outside.”

Long queues in front of oil pumps indicate the onset of highway bandh for one or the other demands of people inhibiting along the people’s lifelines. Government always remains hapless in dealing with the frequent highway blockades which harass the general population particularly the poor majority. No befitting action has been taken up against those taking undue advantage of residing along the national highways. The supreme court of India has already ruled that highway blockade is a crime worth punishable. However, till today not a single perpetrator or organisation involved in highway blockade has ever been booked and banned in Manipur. Thanks to the inaction of the incumbent government that does not spare even an old vendor woman of Khwairamband Keithel for her occupying a small space at the roadside, selling vegetables and braving traffic police lathis to feed her families.

During the 68 day Naga-sponsored economic blockade last year, the normal social and economic lives of the Manipuris were severely hit. As the LPG gas was unavailable due to blockade, time of cooking depended on the availability of electricity during daytime. We saw widespread use of rice cookers and electric heaters for all cooking purposes replacing use of cooking gas. People started using charcoal with chulaas for cooking at home. The blockade in highways obviously taught a valuable lesson to the Manipuris regarding economical use of fuel at home and outside. Earlier most people recklessly used LPG for domestic purposes keeping aside the electric heaters and rice cookers rusted for long. But, we were forced to repair the electric heaters and chulaas for making tea, boiling water, preparing curries and fries.

Although its negative impacts have hard-hit the inhabitants of Manipur hills and valley people during the last few months, economic blockade is not bereft of intent merits providing durable benefits to the people. Unnecessary roaming on vehicles has drastically reduced as petrol prices in black market sky-rocketed as high as 120 per litre. Long queues have adorned the oil pumps. Besides using public carriers like Auto-Rikshaw and Magic-Tata by office goers, number of cycling and walking people will also rise in course of time. As many vehicles are off the roads due to fuel scarcity, there will be reduction of air and noise pollution in city. Fuel scarcity will certainly make a valuable contribution to the health of many people who walk and ride cycles for their routine businesses by activating body metabolism and controlling body weight. Thanks to blockade sponsors who indirectly help us realized the relevance of simple living.

Dearth of edibles coming in from outside the state will compel many people to use local products made by self-help groups. Most popular are: papad, pickles, chow-chow, Khurman, kabok, spices and juices of various kinds.  It is time to teach our children children to eat Kabok, Laloo, Heingan, Khurman instead of Cakes, Uncle Chips and Lays. Local made eatables may replace Macorni, Maggi and Chow-chow for School Tiffin. The quantum of demands for local products during the economic blockade may be almost double. Hundreds of women who are engaged in ferrying these products from place to place may be benefitted in their business.

One most rewarding merit of the long economic blockade by the various Naga bodies last year was the garner of attention of the government towards improving the conditions of national highway number 53. However, no improvement has been seen as yet. The said alternative lifeline of the Manipur people which had long been neglected by the government will now be put up again as the most debated agenda of the ensuing general elections.

Locally available fruits should take the place of apple, grapes, mangoes and pomegranates imported from outside which are expensive and the prices of which often fluctuate due to transport disruptions. Cooking LPG uses may be reduced at the minimum by utilizing the electricity economically and adopting the traditional charcoal/ fuel wood burning. People in general need to popularize walking and cycling for less-hasty and less-distant businesses. It serves the trio-benefit of health improvement, saving fuel and reducing pollution. If we can be familiarized with such habits and practices, the hardships due to economic blockade will not be too grave as before. The simple living and Swadeshi philosophies of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the Nation have found total relevance in Manipur at this hour of highway blockade.
(The writer is a freelance journalist)

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/08/let-us-learn-from-economic-blockade/