Day after Baba Farid University of Health Sciences vice-chancellor Dr Raj Bahadur resigns, doctors demand apology from Punjab health minister for humiliating him
Strongly condemning Punjab health minister Chetan Singh Jouramajra for misbehaving with Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS), Faridkot, vice-chancellor Dr Raj Bahadur during an inspection on Friday, the medical fraternity on Saturday said the ills in the healthcare system are because of poor funding by the state government and not because of the institution’s head.
Upset over complaints of dirty wards at the state-run Faridkot medical college and hospital, Jouramajra, accompanied by Aam Aadmi Party Jaitu MLA Amolk Singh and AAP workers, conducted an inspection and asked Dr Bahadur to lie on a dirty patient bed, pictures of which were shared on social media. Though Dr Bahadur explained that the state-run Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital was trying to give proper facilities to patients with all available resources, the minister got him to lie on the patient bed in the dermatology department. Dr Bahadur, who was on his third extension as the BFUHS V-C, put in his papers on Friday night.
The incident has triggered an outrage in the medical fraternity with doctors demanding an apology from the health minister for overstepping.
In a joint statement, the senior vice-president of the Indian Doctors for Peace and Development and former chairman ethical committee Punjab Medical Council Dr Arun Mitra, and Punjab Medical Council former president Dr GS Grewal said: “The ills in the healthcare system are because of poor funding by the government and not because of the vice-chancellor. The allocation to health in the recent budget is only 3.03% instead of the required 11%. With this meagre amount, one can only expect torn sheets and mattresses on hospital beds!”
Both doctors termed Dr Raj Bahadur “a surgeon par excellence who has worked with dedication with no finger to be pointed towards him”.
“If the minister turns unruly, what will happen to society? The Punjab health minister should apologise for his misbehaviour and concentrate on improving the health infrastructure instead of such cheap publicity tactics. This is an encouragement to those unruly elements for violence against unarmed doctors, which is prevalent these days,” Dr Mitra and Dr Grewal added in the statement.
