From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bengaluru, Apr 29: India will progress when all villages have easy access to quality healthcare, said Dr K Sudhakar, Health and Family Welfare Minister, in Bengaluru on Friday, April 29.
Speaking at the convocation of BGS Medical College, he exhorted the doctors to provide good service to society as there is no distinction of caste or religion in the work of doctors.
Doctors must be able to see the difficulties and love while examining patients and taking care of their family and relatives. A doctor would have earned the gratitude of the patients and their families if he or she is able to wipe out the tears in their eyes through their selfless service, he said.
Dr Sudhakar pointed out that the doctors who passed in 1918-19 had the privilege of taking care of people during the first pandemic that took heavy toll when the Spanish flue caused havoc. The doctors who passed out now have had similar opportunity of treating people during the worst pandemic. This is a valuable experience that will shape the lives of doctors, he said.
According to World Health Organisation (WHO), there must be a doctor for every 900 people. But prior to 2014, the availability of doctors was barely one per every 1300 persons. Taking into account doctors of Allopathic, Ayurvedic, Unani and Yogic Sciences, the State now has roughly one doctor for every 900 persons.
After BJP came to power at the Centre in 2014 under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, over 200 medical colleges have been established in different parts of the country and every year over 65,000 MBBS doctors and 30,000 post-graduate doctors are coming out. This is a singular achievement, he said.
Dr Sudhakar said it was a good sign that more and more women are entering the medical profession and termed it as a major landmark in the empowerment of women. He said Indian doctors must be able to compete with their foreign counterparts and excel in the profession.
The Corona pandemic has turned out to be a blessing in disguise, he said pointing out that the pandemic opened new vistas for the development of medical profession and greater allocations by the States and the Centre. Infrastructure has developed tremendously with Karnataka alone accounting for 50,000 oxygenated beds and over 1 lakh beds among private hospitals.