Temporary relief, permanent pain
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: April 28 2015 -

The news of doctors suspending their cease-work stir in Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) came as a big relief to the infirmed and those seeking medical attention in the same hospital.

The doctors had been on a strike since April 21 and decided to suspend it after the assurance given by the Chief Minister to address their grievances.

The JNIMS doctors were demanding the removal of the director in charge and better service conditions.

The doctors’ strike was joined by JNIMS nurses who also had their set of demands on regularization of services further aggravating the overall situation.

Though the JNIMS doctors have suspended the stir, they minced no words in asserting that they would be compelled to re-launch the strike if the assurance given by the Chief Minister was not translated into action within a stipulated time frame.

During the period of the strike, JNIMS OPD, casualty, emergency services were shut down and most of the blocks in the hospital had been closed.

While services offered by hospitals like JNIMS in the Imphal Valley were crippled, there are reports that suggest healthcare system and services in the Hill Districts are not only crippled but virtually non-existent.

Take for instance the case of Ukhrul District Hospital in recent times. It has been very clear that the dispensation of healthcare and services in the Hill Districts needs to be seriously looked into.

Some of the Government run hospitals in the Hills have been plagued by acute manpower shortage and paucity of technical facilities.

If reports are to be believed, there is the need to probe into frequent cases of absenteeism and proxy services indulged by those officially engaged by the Government to provide healthcare services.

Moreover, what use is a District Hospital equipped with technology when there is no power generator to make use of the same.

Under such circumstances, any efforts made to achieve the overall objective of a welfare state come to naught.

Finding any temporary ways to mitigate the current state of affairs as far as the overall healthcare services in the State will be just temporary relief without diagnosing the causes of permanent pain.