What Is Missing?

Dear Viswa,
Wish your wife speedy recovery.These days cataract surgeries are
the simplest and India also a single doctor performs nearly 40 to 50 surgeries a day.
For cornea transplant, there is a waitlist according to age and urgency.Two 23 year old boys from Orissa had severe injuries in cornea while working in a welding lathe. They were first in the wait list .They waited for a month in Shankar Nethralaya .They could not get any eye donation.They left to orissa just on urgent mission to return after 10 days.Meanwhile there were floods and they could not return.Meanwhile my husband recd a call from Shankar nethralaya to rush to the hospital immediately for surgery.He felt guilty that he is depriving the chance of two young boys.But the donated eyes could not be wasted.
I was in office.Before I reached hospital he was already in the theatre.When he didn't come out of theatre for nearly 90 mts I got upset.
Then I learnt that the previous patient who was operated upon for cataract developed cardiac arrest on the operation table and he had to be given primary care.After 4 hrs my husband was again taken to the theatre, both cornea transplant and cataract were performed simultaneuosly.After 17 years the transplant still works fine and he has regained 100% vision.Thanks to the experts in Shankar Nethralaya.

There are many such experts in Chennai. My friend had a blurred vision and was being treated for eye disorder for two years.One of the ophthalmologists ,not very popular, from Purasawalkam, exactly identified that it was no problem of eye, and that it was a brain tumour.While many thought that he was threatening the patient,ultimately he was correct as per findings of the scan.Fortunately the tumour was benign and he was operated by the famous surgeon Dr.Ramamurthy( neuro)
Everywhere there are problems.But in India we can get appointments even from famous doctors from famous hospitals within a week and emergency surgeries can be performed within hrs.
In US for a small fracture in the ribs for my husband we waited in Emergency for 5 hrs( There was no emergency at all) and the doctor prescribed 150 tablets of pain killers which Indian doctors never advise us to take for than 7 or 10 days.
Everyone has his/her own hospital experience-some good and some bad.We have to be treated where we live.
Jayasala 42

 

Dear Viswa,
Wishing your wife a speedy recovery. India doesn't lag behind in medical treatment than any other western country. Medical tourism is a growing sector in India.
India's 1st healthcare tourism portal launched by Indian Government in the year 2015 and also India is an international medical travel destination for patients seeking world class treatment at competitive rates.
There are hospitals for poor and the needy and also many private hospitals also give free treatment to poor people.
My DH and self had cataract surgery at Rajan Eye Care hospital and we both have no problem.
PS

 

Dear Viswa,

I personally feel Chennai has some of the best eye care hospitals, like Sankara Nethralya, Rajan Eyecare etc- where people from outside India come to have the best treatment. These institutions cater not only to the rich but also to the poor by providing cost effective treatment. It is good to know that all is well at your end. God Bless.

Agatha83
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People get treatment abroad because it's better. If India was better, they would stay here. If India was nice, there would be no reason for Indians to leave. That many of the members of this forum reside abroad is itself an indication of this fact.

Medical tourism is a sham. It's a tailor-made service for Westerners, not for Indians.

I have seen with my own eyes what Indian hospitals are like. Wards that are supposed to be isolated, where the door is to kept shut, where people are not supposed to be allowed are like guest rooms and drawing rooms for relatives. There is no concept of hygiene. No concept of cleanliness. You cannot isolate hospitals or any kind of service from the wider society. The hospital, the government, the private enterprises are all a reflection of the society we inhabit. You cannot be a 3rd world country and simultaneously have world-class hospitals. This is not just a problem that afflicts India but all poor countries.

I wish all the best to India and to anybody who likes it here. If they are happy here, good for them. But, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Everybody is yearning to get out. Everybody is yearning to send their kids abroad. Everybody is proud to have a relative overseas. Anybody who makes the mistake of returning is treated like a pariah and asked the question; "Why did you come back?" like you would be mad to even entertain such a thought. And they are right. Have you been to AIIMS in Delhi? That place is literally like a slum colony where the poor and infirm of the entire country have gathered together and created a small town in the surrounding area They are sleeping on footpaths and roads outside the hospital. And you expect this atmosphere to encourage health? We really must be mad even entertaining the thought of "world-class" and "India" in the same sentence. We should not begrudge those who head abroad for treatment. Health is not a matter of patriotism, it's a matter of survival. I would rather survive than die as a patriotic Indian.

PS: On the subject of Jayalalitha, yes, she may have remained in India. But, a white specialist from London was flown in to see to her and give his opinion on her treatment. His assessment was seen as pure gold. His word was last. They had to hold a press conference where the white fellow gave his certificate that the facilities at Apollo were "world-class" and there was nothing fishy going on. Only then the Indians could relax. So, I would not take Jayalalitha's case as an example of some new-found Indian faith in Indian hospitals. Indians themselves do not trust their own system.

 

Dear Viswa,
In Nirbhaya's case the government was in a knee jerking position as day by day protesting crowd from all walks of life gathered in front of the hospital. Perhaps the doctors in the hospital were also afraid thinking there will be mob fury if something untoward happened. In the end even the Singapore hospital also couldn't save Nirbhaya.

Both MGR and Jayalalithaa had kidney transplantation at US. In those days politicians and Highfliers used to go to foreign for treatment.

PS

 

That was a nice read