Can we have a medical
treatment in Kashmir like we have in Europe?
I am back with my readers
after a gap of about two months and half. I travelled in Europe for eight weeks
and also spent four days with my daughter in Dubai. I was unwell and my sugar
level had increased. Medicines prescribed by European doctors became
ineffective. I had to seek permission of the Sessions Court in Srinagar for
going abroad for treatment because I cannot go out of India without court
permission. I was allowed eight weeks of absence abroad.
Readers might ask why I make
my sickness a subject for this article. Actually I want to narrate for our
readers the difference between European and Indian systems of treatment. Cleanliness is the first problem with our
hospitals. They stink like hell. Toilets are obnoxious stinking holes; water
pipes are invariably broken and leaking, and if not broken, they are dry.
Bedding, mattresses, sheets and pillows all are a plethora of dirt and filth.
Patients needing even minor medication like headache pills, glucose and
injections, have to buy these from market. When complaints are lodged with the
doctors the reply is that the government does not supply them.
We find private medical
clinics flourishing in Kashmir. They abound in streets wherever you go.
Pharmacies like semi-hospital dispensaries are to be seen all around. These
vendors loot the helpless patients. Most of these medicine shops sell spurious
medicines. It is said that our State is the biggest market of spurious drugs.
Keeping this in mind, when I
compare how I am being treated in Europe I can say that it is only a dream. In
European countries there is the insurance system for medical treatment. People
have to deposit a monthly amount in accordance with their income. Minimum
insurance is 110 Euros, which is approximately eight thousand rupees. If one’s
income is less, one receives 70 per cent of insurance fee from the government.
With this insurance, a man has not to worry about his treatment. A medical
centre is created in the locality where such a man lives; the centre caters to
a population of 20 to 25 thousand souls.
8 to 10 family doctors are deputed in each centre. There are separate
doctors for ENT and Physio- therapy and also for blood, urine and other tests.
On falling sick, a person goes to family doctor. If a person has bad cold the
doctor will suggest Parestamol and advise him to take rest. Doctors avoid
giving antibiotics to children as long as possible. If the family doctor feels
necessary, he can refer his patient to the specialists.
Since my sugar level was
high, my family doctor prescribed medicines but also referred me to the specialist
by fixing my appointment with him on the internet by sending him an email. He
also contacted the Cardiologist and sought my appointment with him. He has been
treating me for last one decade or more. Three days later, I got the
appointment letter by post from both the doctors. Thus I went to Amsterdam Medical
Centre on two different dates for treatment. This is among the largest
hospitals of Europe. Diabetes specialist,
a lady doctor along with her assistant, conducted my investigation and filled
forms. She subjected me to close inspection of all my body including nails, and
then sent me for urgent USG. I had to come next day morning without eating for the
second test. After the tests were conducted, I was again called for appointment
with diabetes doctor. The Diabetes nurse gave me full instructions about the disease.
For the first time I came to know that despite diabetes I could eat three hundred
grams of meat in a week and live a normal life. About eating I was advised to
eat according to my taste but only less in quantity. I was told that it would
be better to avoid eating rice. She said even if I eat ten times a day but in
small quantities, it would not do harm.
Many patients are scared of
insulin. I also avoided insulin for a long time. But she told me that
dehydration means loss of water and glucose in the body. When there is loss of
blood, glucose and blood are injected into the body. In the same way since in
sugar blood does not create insulin cells therefore insulin is to be injected. Diabetes
immediately affects eyesight and then liver and kidneys are also affected.
During my four appointments with her, she thoroughly explained to me the
function of insulin. She almost made me a doctor with knowledge of insulin. She
directed me to use two types of insulin four times a day and advised me to
check sugar level four times a day and maintain the record.
Thereafter the physician
gave me Accu Check Aviva for checking sugar for six months plus insulin and
medicines for six months. She gave me a packet with fifty strips for testing
blood. The test packet costs around 2300 rupees in India. I was given 20 test
packets which would cost about forty-six thousand rupees in India. Two types of
insulin that were given to me cost nearly 1.5 lac rupees. Had I to do all this
testing and medication and fees here in India, it would have cost me nearly ten
lakh rupees. I was also given custom clearance form along with medicines with
the signature and seal of the doctor. It has to be noted that you may have the
medicines of any weight but if you have the prescription of the doctor and
custom clearance form, then the airlines do not charge for the weight.
I consulted the world
renowned heart specialist Dr. Winter. He checked me and also did some necessary
tests and gave me date of 28 August 2012 for enjogrphy and other tests. I would
like to make a mention of a miraculous happening. God Almighty has been
gracious to me. Left artery of my heart is blocked and only surgery can set it
right. God has created small veins that continuously carry blood to the heart.
I had to take aspirin to keep my blood thin. I had gone through heart test in
the US in 1998. My faith in God’s grace became solid when I was told there is
just one out of millions of people who has the smaller veins carrying blood.
All I want to say is that
how can a poor man exist here in this country? He is forced to take fake
medicine. A doctor is considered a symbol of saving human life but here in this
country he is taking his profession as a business. He prefers to do practice in
a private clinic instead of serving the patients in the hospital. The
government is not prepared to invest in health services. Most of the patients
take letters from doctors and beg for financial assistance to meet the expenses
of treatment. One who does not beg must either spend for himself or his wards
from his savings or sell his house and property to meet the expenses.
We, the Muslims regrettably
have not created such institutions as would take care of weaker sections of
society. Here we must have insurance system in any case and those will less
income should receive support from the government. Small medical centres should
be there for a locality with a population of 20 to 25 thousand. All basic
medical facilities should be available in these centres. We are unfortunate in
the sense that if an accident happens in a village or on the highway, the
victim is to be removed to Srinagar or Jammu hospital. An emergency hospital
was opened in Qazigund but despite that patients were brought for admission in
hospitals in Srinagar because there were no doctors and staff available in
Qazigund.
We are careless about our womenfolk
though we understand their role in keeping human race in tact. In LD hospital
we find more rats and cats than medical attendants. In Holland a hospital is
named “Our dear women”. Its branches are to be found in every small or big town
in that country. Invariably lady doctors are deployed in them. A hospital is in
no way lesser than a five star hotel in terms of bedding, cleanliness, eating
stuff etc.
I would like to ask whether
we should not learn the good things in western system and own them. On my
return I halted in Dubai for four days. I had been there 19 years ago and at
that time on Sultan Zaidi bin Nehan highway there were only two buildings. But
today in terms of buildings, roads, medical facilities, hotels, shopping
complexes and entertainment it is a developed place. In UAE more than 90 per
cent workers are from foreign countries. I shall write on economic and other
conditions of Dubai in my next write up. But once one is outside Kashmir, one
is pained to note that in the areas of health service, thought process, trade
and commerce, politics, education etc. we are just in 12th century.
This article was published in Daily 'Greater Kashmir' on 16th December 2011.
