Doctors should uphold Hippocratic Oath at all times: Dr Sukhato

November 24, 2024 4 Views No Comment

Morung Express News
Dimapur | November 24

Nagaland’s poor showing in the doctor-population ratio came up once again. MLA, Dr Sukhato A Sema brought up the issue while speaking at the annual conference 2024 of the Nagaland In-Service Doctors Association (NIDA) in Chümoukedima, where he was the special guest on November 23.

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The legislator had retired as the Principal Director of the Health & Family Welfare Department, in 2016, subsequently taking the electoral plunge.

Against the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation of one doctor for a thousand people (1:1000), he said that the current ratio stood at 1:4056. The figure is even well below the 1:2500 ratio recommended by the Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS). Going by the 2011 Census, which tipped state’s total population at 19, 79,000, Dr Sukhato held that the ratio should have been 1:1,979, at least, against the present 1:4056.

He said that other states in the northeastern region have surpassed Nagaland in terms of healthcare provision, citing Arunachal Pradesh as an example. In 2022, the neighbouring state had 664 doctors, as opposed to Nagaland’s 390 (as on 2022), translating into 1:2427.

As far as the strength of doctors per hospital was concerned, Dr Sukhato said that the standard for 100-bed hospitals (including district hospitals) is a minimum of 29 doctors. He however did not disclose the current figures per hospital. Nagaland has 81 general hospitals, of which 64 is public or government-run, and 17 private, he added.

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According to him, the NIDA should assess the public’s needs regarding hospital infrastructure and personnel (doctors, nurses, and paramedical staff) and advocate for aligning the service rules and enhancing pay bands with that of the civil services.

Historically, Dr Sukhato said that medical professionals’ salaries were higher than those of administrative officers like the IAS, but this has reversed. Attributing it to inaction, he said that the NIDA is right platform to address this, besides requesting the government for better living quarters and amenities for the medical personnel.

He further highlighted the need for a comprehensive recruitment policy for medical doctors, implying conducting separate examinations for MBBS graduates and specialists, discipline-wise.

Meanwhile, Dr Sukhato said that medical doctors must ever uphold the Hippocratic Oath to fulfill their duties to the best of their ability. As professionals, they should not hesitate to admit limitations and consulting colleagues when the “skills of another are needed for a client’s recovery.”

“Remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that, sympathy and understanding may at times outweigh the surgeon’s knife or the physician’s or the chemist’s drugs,” he emphasised. The NIDA also announced a new 6-member team of executives led by Dr Thomas Keppen as President and Dr Visietsolie Vüprü as General Secretary.