Corporate hsopitals turning doctors into ‘job beggars’, says Dr Sancheti

Nagpur: Instead of small clinics owned by individual medical practitioners, today we are seeing big swanky corporate hospitals in metro cities. This change might look good, but it is making doctors ‘job beggars’ as they are treated as ‘performers’ and judged on corporate parameters, said Padma Vibhushan Dr Kantilal Sancheti.
Dr Sancheti, a veteran in the field of orthopaedics, was in Nagpur on Monday. He delivered a lecture on ‘Changing scenario in medical practice’ at the Kutuhal exhibition. This three-day unique exhibition of bio-medical and engineering appliances concluded on Monday.

“When I started as a medical practitioner some 50 years ago, there used to be small clinics where one doctor or a doctor couple used to treat patients. They used to enjoy personal bonding with patients. The faith patients used to have in their doctors played the most important role in treatment. With introduction of corporate culture in hospitals, this connect is missing,” said Dr Sancheti.

He further said that since the emotional connect is missing, patients take help of Google to cross-check the treatment and ultimately create problems for self as well as the doctors, he said.

To young resident doctors, Dr Sancheti’s advice was to move towards smaller towns and start their own clinics instead of working for corporate hospitals. “There is a huge scope in small towns. Instead of spending on building and infrastructure, you should spend on equipment and machinery,” he said.

He praised the communication skills acquired by young doctors. “Giving time to your patient and communicating your diagnosis in a simple way is a skill. I am happy that budding doctors I met in this exhibition are very good at communication. They are confident and convey their message effectively,” he said.

Dr Sancheti, who is 83-year-old but still in good health, said doctors should practice yoga and pranayam regularly. Social worker and Dr Ravindra Kolhe, who works for tribals in Melghat, was felicitated after the lecture.