The population of senior citizens has gone up from 57 million in 1991 to 90 million in 2011 in India. It is estimated to touch 340 million by 2050. Yet, the country lacks trained medical professionals to provide geriatric care to elders. The problem is particularly acute in Karnataka.
Shockingly, Karnataka has no colleges that offer courses in geriatrics either at the undergraduate or postgraduate levels. The only course available is a Post Graduate Diploma in Geriatric Medicine (PGDGM) offered by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU).
As a result, senior citizens have no access to specialised care in hospitals, except by psychiatrists. General physicians, who attend to geriatric patients too, refer them to speciality doctors. Affordability is the greatest worry as almost all the available professionals are scattered in corporate hospitals.
Prabha Adhikari from Kasturba Medical College, who represents the Karnataka Chapter of the Indian Academy of Geriatrics, said the field of geriatric medicine should be strengthened and “this is just the time for it as the average life expectancy of elders has increased to 65 years now.”
“Although nearly 15 professionals take up the PG Diploma by IGNOU every year in Karnataka, there is a need for more specialists,” she said.
Arvind Kasthuri, Professor of Community Medicine and co-ordinator of outreach programme in geriatrics at St. John’s Medical College, said every medical practitioner should be sensitised about geriatric care. “The Medical Council of India and RGUHS should push for a sensitisation programme or a module in geriatrics in all medical colleges both at the undergraduate and postgraduate level,” he said
Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) Vice-Chancellor K.S. Ravindranath said the varsity was open to the idea of starting courses in geriatrics. “If any college comes forward to start a course with a trained faculty, we will grant permission. This is a new speciality and MD in geriatrics is available only in Madras Medical College, Chennai, and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS),” he said.
Uma Buggi, consultant physician and geriatrician at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD) said geriatric medicine would soon get its due importance. “Sensitising government medical officers in geriatric care has already begun. As a resource person for one such programme organised recently by the Health Department, I have noted that there is good response from medical officers,” she said.
Proposal on institute of geriatrics in cold storageThe proposal to start an institute of geriatrics on the premises of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD) at a cost of Rs. 10 crore has been on paper for the last three years.
Medical Education Secretary M. Lakshminarayana said the proposal had been included in the budget last year. “We will study the proposal in detail and take it forward,” he added.
