I do not mind comments that disagree with my opinions, or comments that provoke discussion. Without knowing the entire situation or context, your judgments might be a little short-sighted. The same has been expressed by Dr Asif Hameed  in ‘Reflections’ of (GK 11-03-2011). The author doesn’t like my act of comparing  salary of doctors working in Kashmir and New Delhi  but  doesn’t  hesitate in comparing  Medical education in Kashmir with that of US medical schools. How could one draw parallels between the education  received in  poorest state  of  India and  the world’s  best economy  like United  States.  Is it justifiable? Secondly by raising the issue of a poor patient coming from a remote area to Srinagar, let the public in general and the author in particular stand informed that there is no lack of morally conscious doctors  in our state who not only  like to treat such poor patients free of cost but also make arrangements for their travel. By the way Kashmiris are known for these acts of generosity for decades  however  the same may not be true in a  country like France where  the  author has preferred to work  and make his living  rather  than serving his  own  poor people  of  this  state. His education at some time must also have been funded by the tax of poor Kashmiris. There is a notion and misunderstanding among many people regarding healthcare. Majority of the problems in our hospitals are administrative in origin like Drug control, Salary of the medicos, Adhoicism, Favouritism,  Policy decisions,  Manpower deficiency , poor infrastructure, lack of equipments,  then why only doctors are made scapegoats when the responsibilities are to be shared by the administration as well. It is my sincere advice to people not to get too offended by what the doctors say. The dysfunction in our health care system penalizes good doctors. This requires attention for everyone's sake.  My suggestion to my fellow medicos is “you don’t have to please anybody out there so just keep doing  good work. Healthcare is not a Black and White simple issue to view solely through the lens of patients.  Eventually good patient care and a healthier population has to be the goal

Dr. Muddassir Shahdhar
Buchpora , Srinagar
Ex -PG student, Surgery , SKIMS

Lastupdate on : Tue, 15 Mar 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 15 Mar 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 16 Mar 2011 00:00:00 IST