Doctors Struggle to Get Decent Salaries: CJI N V Ramana

The Hon'ble Chief Justice of India (CJI) condemned the cruel attack on doctors while on duty on Thursday, emphasizing the role played and referring to doctors as "God" and "Goddesses." 

“It is saddening that our doctors are being brutally attacked while on duty. Why is it that the medical professionals are at the receiving end for someone else’s failure?” CJI said. 

The Chief Justice of India, speaking to the medical fraternity on Doctors' Day and launching the Research Society for the Study of Diabetes (RSSDI) while referring to the 'Defeat Diabetes Campaign,' said there was a need to start an awareness movement similar to the anti-tobacco and pulse polio campaigns, and the state had to step in big time.

While stressing the importance of family doctors, CJI highlighted challenges such as a shortage of medical experts, infrastructure, medicines, obsolete technologies, and the government's failure to prioritise the medical industry, all of which he described as "urgent concerns."

“Why is it that the profiteering by corporates and investors is being blamed on doctors? It is saddening to see that a good and qualified doctor cannot start a decent hospital of his own and survive. Even after 8 to 9 years of rigorous learning, doctors struggle to get decent salaries,” Chief Justice NV Ramana further added.

“This decade is defined by the healing touch and the sacrifices made by our doctors. While the world is still reeling under the devastating impact of the pandemic, our doctors have been tirelessly and selflessly fighting against the deadly pandemic. The Indian Medical Association’s data suggests that more than 798 doctors have lost their lives in the deadly second wave. My heartfelt prayers and sympathies go out to the families of those medical professionals and healthcare workers who have lost their lives to the COVID-19 pandemic,” CJI said. 

He also said that we could only sincerely greet doctors on July 1 every year if the medical bodies and concerned agencies in the government have to put their heads together to address these concerns. 

The CJI also published some emotional words written by Lizzy, a young medical practitioner from the United States, who stated, "Watching you suffer is destroying my heart, we healthcare workers are falling apart."

Doctors' Day commemorates the birth and death anniversaries of a prominent doctor and former West Bengal chief minister Bidhan Chandra Roy, who was born on July 1 and died on July 1.