Yogesh Jain and Raman Kataria respond

August 09, 2012 02:01 am | Updated December 04, 2021 11:41 pm IST

We have linked the large number of reported hysterectomies in Chhattisgarh not only to unregulated RSBY and privatisation but also to poorly functioning public facilities. RSBY offers packages for one-time surgical procedures such as hysterectomies but does not support conservative outpatient options (outpatient treatment is not covered under the scheme). Ironically it is described as a health insurance scheme when all it ensures are medical procedures with no primary care.

Dr. Desai’s attempt at explaining away hysterectomies on gender bias and women’s rights using her qualitative research is confusing, and worrisome. Is she justifying that women have a right to lose their uterus when they believe that it has outlived its role in fertility? That men (and women) doctors have induced the demand for hysterectomies among women is an example of gender bias? As averred by her, good primary care and education are critical but not when there is an unregulated lure of profit for private players.

Excessive hysterectomies are a case in point to highlight the problems of unregulated privatisation. It is well known that significant profit motive raises the incidence of those procedures and investigations in which you can “play” with the indications, whether it is hysterectomies, caesarean sections for women in labour or cholecystectomies for all gallstones.

We need a judicious mix of primary, secondary and tertiary health care for our huge and complex illnesses and that should primarily be provided by the government.

We don’t just need support for medical procedures.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.