IMA asks Gujarat chapter to participate
in fight against NCERT over derogatory description of docs in Class VII SS
textbook
Taking forward the fight against
discrimination of private doc tors in the syllabus of National Council of
Educational Research and Training (NCERT), Indian Medical Association (IMA) has
sent a notice to Gujarat branch of IMA to join in.
A comic strip published on pages
22-23 of Class 7 social sciences textbook by NCERT shows private doctors as
fleecing patients. The private doctor is shown as prescribing many medicines,
while a government doctor just hands out a pill for a viral infection. The
private doctor's bill is Rs 3,500, while the government doctor charges Rs 150.
A portion of chapter 2 on `Role of
Government in health' says, “In order to earn more money, these private
services encourage practices that are incorrect. At times cheaper methods,
though available, are not used. For example, it is common to find doctors
prescribing unnecessary medicines, injections or saline bottles when tablets or
simple medicines can suffice.“
IMA has demanded that the chapter
should either be deleted or re-written. “All branches of IMA across the country
will join hands to fulfill the demand. We will conduct a meeting and organise a
press conference to make people aware of the issue,“ said Dr Chetan Patel,
president of Gujarat IMA.
Dr K K Aggarwal, secretary
general, IMA, said, “Before making such incorrect statements, the cost of
infrastructure, medical equipment and salary in private hospitals should be
calculated. There is no way the cost of government hospitals can be compared
with that of private hospitals without taking into consideration those
factors.“
An objection was first raised by
IMA Chandigarh which sent letters to the Union Minister for Health and Family
Welfare, JP Nadda, and the Minister for Human Resource Development, Smriti
Irani, expressing disappointment. “The books were published in 2007 but no one
took note of it. Such sweeping statements will brainwash the students and
mislead them,“ said Dr Sandeep Dhavan, IMA president, Chandigarh.
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