Noted orthopaedic surgeon and Padma Shri recipient expresses his views in Pioneer Talk
The private sector and government sector should not act as competitors but work to complement each other to provide quality healthcare services especially to the poor and downtrodden sections of the society. Prominent orthopaedic surgeon and recipient of Padma Shri, Dr BKS Sanjay said this while interacting with Paritosh Kimothi and Gajendra Singh Negi of The Pioneer during an online interaction on Saturday. He opined that though healthcare is a cost intensive sector and needs a lot of capital, the private players should not extract disproportionate profits from their enterprise. “I personally believe that the health and education sectors should not be made as mainly business units and elements of service to the society should be there in any venture in these fields. The profit models should be made while keeping the motto of societal service at the central position,’’ he said. On the status of the health services in remote and mountainous areas, he said that different yardsticks should be there for the areas located in plains and mountains. On the vaccination drive for Covid-19 and misconception in people regarding vaccination, Dr Sanjay said that the vaccines are safe and there should be no doubt in mind of anyone about the vaccine. He said that dreaded diseases like smallpox and polio which had a very high mortality were eradicated only by the vaccines. On Covid-19 pandemic, Dr Sanjay said that the manner in which government doctors, healthcare workers, police and sanitation workers worked to combat the disease deserves praise from society.
Narrating his experience of holding free healthcare camps in different parts of the state especially in mountainous areas, Dr Sanjay said that he received tremendous love and support from people and never had any problems related to logistics and other issues. The orthopaedic surgeon who holds many records and finds mention in Guinness world book of records and the Limca book of records recalled that he removed a tumour as big as 16.5 kg from the thigh of a patient to save his life. He even had put a tumour affected portion of a bone of a patient in an autoclave to kill tumour cells and then transplanted it back to the patient’s body, a feat which received wide acclaim in the medical fraternity. He said that the innovations should be logical and the practitioner should have faith in his ability, knowledge and training to perform innovative tasks. On his campaign to follow road safety rules to prevent accidents, Dr Sanjay said, “Accidents not only break bones but also break families and relations. Road safety should be included in the curriculum of the schools. The wearing of helmets, tying seat belts and driving rules should be observed religiously by everyone,’’ he said.
On maintaining bone health, the senior orthopaedic surgeon said that the calcium in the bones is like a bank balance which increases till the age of 30, remains constant till 50 years of age and then starts decreasing. He said that the children should be given calcium rich food for their bone health. Dr Sanjay said that physical activity is the key to maintaining good health and proper condition of bones.
When asked to comment on the ongoing controversy on promotion of ‘mixopathy’ and allowing the Ayurveda practitioners to perform some surgeries, Dr Sanjay said that every medicinal system has its qualities and uniqueness and they should be used for treating patients. He added that the expert of one field should not dabble in the domain of another as sometimes it can have disastrous consequences.
Sunday, 07 February 2021 | PNS | Dehradun
