Medical science shouldn’t profiteer from society, says President Kovind
NEW DELHI: President Ramnath Kovind on Tuesday called on 572 students graduating from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to make sure medical science does not “profiteer from the society”.
The President’s remarks come at a time when a spate of overbilling and negligence charges against private hospitals have affected the trust between doctors and patients.
“Your services must be available to both those who can afford your fees and also to those who are less fortunate and cannot afford. Diseases do not distinguish between the rich and the poor but unfortunately, the poor suffer the most,” said the President, speaking at the 45th convocation of the premier institute.
Kovind also emphasised the need for a new regulatory system to increase the number of doctors and medical professionals to treat the growing challenge of infections and lifestyle-related diseases such as heart disease, obesity and malnutrition.
“Our medical colleges — both government and private — have only about 67,000 undergraduate seats and 31,000 postgraduate seats. In a country of 1.3 billion people, this is highly inadequate. We have to overcome regulatory bottlenecks and interest groups that prevent the growth of quality medical education,” said Kovind.
Health minister JP Nadda said: “There is a tremendous shortage of skilled human resources in health sector... We’ve planned a rapid expansion of medical education in the country. In this regard, AIIMS can take a leadership role.”