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Re-introduce humaneness into medicine, says V-C

PUDUCHERRY: With technological advances increasing the distance between the patient and doctor, nurses and paramedical staff had the opportunity to fill the gap and encourage healing for the patients, Vice-Chancellor of Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai, S. Rangaswami stressed on Thursday.

At the annual day celebrations of Mother Theresa Post Graduate and Research Institute of Health Sciences, a government of Puducherry institution, he emphasised the need to re-introduce humaneness into medicine.

The development of medicine was increasing the distance between the patient and doctor, he said, adding, “Technology, as it advances, has made physicians feel that better diagnosis could be done with equipment and technology. The sense of feeling for a surgeon by his/her fingers and hands is required less and less. Unfortunately, with technological advances, the doctor sits far away from the patients, writing the investigations without even looking at the patients or talking.”

Chief Secretary to Government of Puducherry R. Chandramohan emphasised the vital role of paramedics and said, “Their role of an interface with the public is much more than the medical persons.”

He said the need for a girls’ hostel at the institution and provision of stipend for postgraduates would be discussed.

Noting that the future of health in the Union Territory predominantly depended on prevention aspects and promotion of health, Director of Health Dilip Kumar Baliga said, “At least 40 per cent of funding should be for prevention and promotion of health. Going to villages and advising them to be healthy is not considered very elegant. There has to be a paradigm shift in the teaching and students have to be made to believe that they need to go to villages and promote health.”

They were looking at generating a huge pool of human resource who took pride in such an activity, Dr. Baliga added.

“Educational institutions are isolated from society. If the institutions are not involved in social activity, they are not of much use to society,” he asserted.

The director noted the future of preventive and promotive health was in the hands of the paramedics in the country. Secretary to Government (Health) T.M. Balakrishnan and Dean of the institute V. Balu spoke on the occasion.

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