Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital Controversy: When Politicians Protest, The Country Suffers

There is tremendous competition among a few political parties in Maharashtra to consolidate their position in the state by being in the news to impress the electorate at large. But the methods they have adopted are damaging to the state and the country.

A case in point is that of the incident involving the death of a woman who was denied admission at the Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital and Research Centre in Pune.

Political parties came out on the streets to protest against the alleged mishandling of the case by the hospital, which led to the woman’s death, in the absence of timely treatment, soon after she delivered twins.

One can understand that some of the protestors might be genuinely disturbed by the incident and they or their near and dear ones must have been victims of financial exploitation by hospitals. It is common knowledge that most private hospitals are now money-making organisations, where doctors are treated like members of sales teams in companies manufacturing consumer goods and the teams are given monthly targets.

The hospitals have a fixed pattern, as if it is part of the medical training. The hospital staff is delighted if the patient has medical insurance; that helps the hospital to inflate the bills by making the patient go through tests, some of which are not even necessary.

The medical and paramedical staff are trained to scare the patient’s relatives by giving a false prognosis and forcing them to take decisions as required by the hospital, the purpose being to fill the hospital coffers rather than help the patient, who can recover with general treatment in most cases.

Every day, one comes across cases of doctors attached to high-end hospitals being fired for failing to meet their targets. The targets are met by advising expensive tests and surgeries, which can often be avoided. When patients have health insurance, their insured amount is often exhausted on tests.

The claim of the Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital that it does not ask for a cash deposit when patients are admitted is hard to digest. The management put the blame on the doctor, expressing surprise that he wrote on the case paper that Rs 10 lakh should be deposited. Those who have been to any hospital ever will know that the bigger the hospital, the more the pressure to deposit money.

A majority of surgeons in several hospitals across the country demand under-the-table fees and threaten that they will not turn up at the operation theatre if the money is not paid at their private consulting rooms or clinics in advance.

It is interesting to see doctors and a dietician visit the patient every day, sometimes twice a day. While some examine the patients, others merely say hello and ask the patient how s/he feels, and for that, the patient has to pay a consultation fee, which varies according to the class of the room or the ward in which the patient is admitted. This method of collecting the fees resembles the way a doorkeeper at a five-star hotel greets you and salutes you in return for a tip.

This does not mean that all doctors are like that. There are a good number of doctors who are ‘misfits’ to be with such hospitals, as they are ethical and more concerned about the patient than hospital profits.

Hospitals are also known to syphon medicines and accessories, which the relatives are asked to buy from the hospital pharmacy. It is not possible for all the relatives to keep a tab on what was ordered and how much was used.

Ensuring 100 per cent occupancy of the intensive care unit beds is part of the racket. When a critically ill patient is wheeled in, a bed is immediately made available by shifting another patient, who does not need ICU care, to a room.

In light of such experiences, it is understandable that members of the public and political parties come out to protest against such hospitals. But such protests need to be non-violent. Physical attacks on doctors and other hospital staff, damage to hospital property and equipment and blockading of the roads leading to the hospital have to be condemned in the strongest words.

Opposition parties carrying out protests over such issues was a trend once. In the case of protests against Mangeshkar Hospital, the ruling Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party carried out violent protests.

Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who chants his mentor Anand Dighe’s name hundreds of times a day, should not forget that when Dighe died at the Singhania Hospital in Thane, Shinde’s followers ransacked the wonderful hospital, which was a boon to residents of Thane. They caused great damage to the equipment and the hospital property. Vijaypat Singhania, who was then the chairperson of the Raymond Group, and was responsible for setting up the hospital, shut it down permanently, stating that these people do not deserve such a hospital.

This time, women activists of the BJP entered Deenanath Hospital and ransacked it. They must have indulged in such an act, having lost faith in their leader and state Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who has failed to control crime in the state.

Apart from rising crimes against women and the acts of violence, especially in Beed, the sale of narcotics by some priests at the Tuljapur temple goes to show that Fadnavis does not have a grip on his home ministry.

While all this was happening, the people of Maharashtra need to be complimented for ensuring a peaceful celebration of Ram Navami and defeating the plans of some fanatics to provoke communal violence in the state.

The author is a senior journalist and media trainer. He tweets at @a_mokashi

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