Noted neurologist and medical researcher Ashok Panagariya has expressed reservations about the Union government's recent decision to raise the retirement age for in-service doctors to 65 years, saying it could hardly be a panacea for all ills. He has called upon the government to look beyond “symptomatic treatment” and plan both short-term and long-term solutions.
Dr. Panagariya, recipient of Padma Shri in 2014 and the prestigious B.C. Roy Award in 2004, said here on Friday that the dearth of human resource in the medical sector could not be denied, but raising the age would hardly contribute to additional resource, as the medical professionals were already working till their advanced age.
“It appears that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's concern about the health of the nation and his urgency to solve it was used by the bureaucracy or the people around him by giving a ready-made and band-aid solution giving the pretext that the shortage of medical professionals can only be solved by raising the retirement age,” said Dr. Panagariya.
If one doctor per 1,000 population was taken as a norm, India had a shortage of about 6 lakh doctors, pointed out the neurologist, adding that the government could increase the number of doctors on its rolls only by hiring more, for which the Budget outlay had to go up.
Increasing age of retirement is a very small measure, which temporarily provides assistance in retaining the “experienced” medical professionals for urban or tertiary care centres. “What has been clearly overlooked is that the primary and secondary care at the district level is grossly deficient in terms of numbers, equipment and politically interfered placements,” said Dr. Panagariya.
Extending the age limit for those who hardly contribute anything to research and development would be allowing a “stale mind spending another five years” in service, leading to a negative impact on young medicos, who lose enthusiasm when they find autonomy missing and newer ideas dying down, he affirmed.
“The lack of clear vision, absence of inclusive strategies and lack of motivation, zeal and enthusiasm, combined with the failure of bureaucratic leadership, are some of the reasons impairing the rural health care delivery,” said Dr. Panagariya, adding that there was a gross disconnect between primary, secondary and tertiary care facilities.
Dr. Panagariya, former Vice-Chancellor of Rajasthah University of Health Sciences, has been working in the sphere of neuroetheology, which integrates the concepts of brain, body and mind. His work on neuromyotonia and nerve cells has been widely acclaimed by the world-class authorities.
