Hosp corporatisation denies healthcare to poor-CJI .. Read more at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

 NEW DELHI: Highlighting the "growing and unchecked" corporatisation of the country's healthcare system, Chief Justice of India N V Ramana on Tuesday said the profit-driven approach of hospitals denies the poor access to healthcare and exorbitant cost charged by them forces people to suppress their treatment needs and well-being.

Addressing doctors of the National Academy of Medical Sciences (NAMS), the CJI also appealed to the governments to take measures to stop brain-drain in the medical field as many doctors are shifting to foreign countries because of better facilities and working environment. Referring to various incidents of medical practitioners being attacked and abused during the pandemic, he said doctors must be provided a safe environment and governments must work on it.
"One trend that needs discussion is the growing and unchecked corporatisation of our healthcare system. Private hospitals are being opened at an exponential rate. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but there is a glaring need for balance. We are seeing hospitals being run like companies, where profit making is more important than service to society. Due to this, hospitals and doctors alike are desensitised towards the plight of patients. They are just numbers for them. This trend has also spread monopoly and is deepening the inequities in access to health care," CJI Ramana said.
He said there has been growing distrust among the common citizens towards doctors and hospitals and "hefty fees, chaotic experiences, and sub-par service has marred the relationship between doctors and the general public".
"Especially in a country like India, where there is immense disparity in access to healthcare, doctors are accountable to the public. Exorbitant medical fees coupled with excessive barriers has made it almost impossible for the poor to get decent healthcare. It is primarily the cost of healthcare that is forcing people to suppress their health care needs and well-being. The heart-breaking fact is that, the crucial preventive stage is often lost when people suppress their health needs," he said.
"During the pandemic I saw various instances where doctors had been threatened, abused, attacked, and shunned. Despite this, they continued working on the front lines. They need a better, and more secure, working environment," Justice Ramana said.