Saturday, June 07, 2008

The so-called "MEDIA"

In view of what's all has been happening in the Patna Medical College these days and what's all has been presented in the news, I want to bring forward the point that whether the so-called media is doing its role perfectly or not.
First of all, the point is what exactly the role of the media is? I don't think that its a matter of debate. It is as clear as it can be. Everybody, doubtlessly, is going to agree that the first and foremost role of the media is to bring forward the truth and nothing else. Now, what exactly the media is doing? Even if I agree on the point that what it is doing is just WHAT it should do, is it doing its job HOW it should do? Are the methods adopted by the media right and legal? Whether or not anybody should be there to have a look at what exactly the media is doing or more importantly, HOW is it doing? Should the media be allowed to enter into anybody's bedroom and spoil his or her privacy completely? Should they be allowed to present news that are fake or prepared by planning or conspiring? Should they be allowed to be so biased?
All this has been happening these days. Everytime, a sting operation comes all these questions are asked and then they are forgotten with the operation itself. Now, we medicos (junior doctors) at the Patna Medical College are facing the recent row of these sting operations these days. We are being presented as the beasts in every newspaper. One of the headlines in a leading hindi daily here read, "सो जा बेटे नही तो जूनियर डॉक्टर जायेंगे।" Another daily makes us one of the most wanted dons of patna.
The recent rows of events that are seen from the perspective of the media(which the general public is bound to see) are something like this............................

On Monday, 2nd june, a lawyer's 5-6 year old daughter dies and the parents allege the attending doctors of negligence. The concerned doctors thrash the parents on this allegation.

On wednesday, 4th june, a senior doctor throws away a child when she was crying while he was in his visits for the follow-up of patients in the ward. An F.I.R. is lodged against the doctor.

On thursday, 5th june, some junior doctors attacked a photographer while he was trying to take snaps of the emergency room where these doctors were involved in a fix with a patient and the attendents. The photographer was so beastly thrashed that he is severely injured and is admitted in a private nursing home.After he was beaten the local public acted against the doctors and the doctors in return, with the help of arms and the so-called their gundagardi threw away everybody out of the campus.
This is what the media has presented the whole of the situation like without even trying to look at all the events from our perspective. Is it really correct for media to present things being so biased?
Now, try to look at these from our perspective.
2nd june, the girl who died had come back from AIIMS, New Delhi, where the doctors declared that she was among her last breaths and could die anytime. Her parents took her back to Patna where she again fell ill and was admitted in PMCH where she died after a few hours. Now anybody can understand what was there that doctors could do that they didn't do and were alleged of the negligence.

4th june, the baby was thrown by senior doctor. At the time of a doctor's round for the follow-up of patients in the ward only one attendant is allowed to be there near the patient. All of them are supposed to keep silence in the ward. The meeting time for relatives are fixed. Above all these rules, the baby was crying there in the lap of her mother who was there with her two brothers and other members of their family. In order to get them out of the ward, the doctor pushed them outside wherein the baby fell down on the floor and the doctor was alleged of throwing away the baby and beating the attendants.

5th june, the photographer who was beaten by the junior doctors, first, conspired against the doctors by agitating the patients and the attendants somehow. The doctors were involved in an ugly situation with these agitating person and then the photographer started taking snaps. With the few recent events that had already caused much anger among the doctors against the mediaperson, the photographer fell prey on the hands of the doctors. The beating of the photographer within 20 minutes of time, brought a mob over 200 person who attacked the junior doctors who were on their duty in the emergency. The doctors were face-to-face with YAMRAJ. Somehow, hundreds of the junior doctors gathered and got their colleagues saved and pushed the mob outside the campus. The mob then involved the local public and attacked on the doctors. Someone from the mob threw a stone on the mosque situated just opposite to the gate of PMCH where this all was happening. Soon the fight of the mediaperson took a communal colour and the PMCH gate became a battlefield. Many person were injured among them three were the medicos who sustained major injuries including head injuries who are still admitted in the hospital.

This is all about the events that occurred the last week as seen from our perspective. I, personally, was not a part of any of these events. All of this, that I have written is what I have heard of from other person who were directly or indirectly involved in these events. As any hearsay is, I won't say that this is the complete truth. There must be some element of exaggeration and concealment in this but I can assure anybody that this is something that is the nearest to the truth. Looking at the work of media these days, there is no denying the fact that media exaggerates everything to an extent where it can achieve maximum profit from this. This is an era of marketing and for that anybody can do anything. The real situation of "KALIYUG". I am not saying that the doctors are always right but what I want to say is that what media is doing to gain its marketing profits is of any good for the public or the nation. The public will eat what it is given to eat. It will see what it is given to see. It will hear what it is given to hear. Is it right to keep the public in such a situation where they are supposed to make their opinions on somebody based on such biased presentation of the events? Do we have no right to express our feelings, our emotions?
The media is doing all this by taking the "Right to Informtion" and "Transparency" as their weapon. What does this right to information mean. Does it mean that everybody has the right to know what the prime minister is doing in his personal life. Does it mean that somebody will be asked by the media that how many times does he f*** his wife? What does "transparency" mean? Does it mean that one should build all the walls of his bedroom using the Saint-Gobain glasses to have maximum transparency. Yeah, I know, this Right to information and transparency are not there for somebody's personal life but the media is taking the help of these weapons even to enter somebody's personal life.
The media never shows what we do at the hospital for the public but if anything goes wrong it gets above us and treats us as if we are doing nothing. The PMCH is looking after more than 60% of the total burden of the whole state. We are caring a number of patients that is more than thrice our capacity. Hundreds are there who come as patients but are discharged as healthy person everyday and if one patient dies we are alleged of negligence. If fighting for our security is a part of negligence, then yes, we are negligent. We have no personal grievances wih any of the mediapersons but we wabt only one thing. Let us serve the public, Let us nurse the public, Let us do our job peacefully.......................................................................................

5 comments:

Alok said...

I didn't know about all this. Deplorable situation no doubt, and something not unfamiliar at all to people there.

It is the same old problem - no respect for institutions of law and order. Neither the patients nor the doctors can take law in their own hands.

There is also a widespread perception among the general public that doctors at govt hospitals lack the work ethic and are negligent --- this may just be a problem of how things are perceived rather than how they really are but it is something the doctors need to work on, may be use media more fruitfully...

Aashu said...

Actually, what has happened here is just something that can't be thought of. The media has opened its front badly against the doctors. The medicine shop owners are said to be supporting the media for all this..............In fact they have propelled the media to do all this.........In hospitals, more patients than the capacity is being handled. Most of the drugs are available free of cost here. Resultantly, the sale of the medicine shops outside the campus has deteriorated like anything. They are outraged and have involved media to present among the public a disgraceful pictures of doctors and the govt hospitals.............The situation is completely out of control and really, ther is no one to look at the plight of doctors and their pathetic conditions....................SHAMEFUL

dr_amar said...

SHAMEFUL INCIDENT FRAMED BY MEDIA

Anamay said...

pathetic and disgusting act by media indeed....but its natural that you may also be biased towards your community while writing this post..d mistake is on doctor's part too..Its not at all expected from such educated individuals to resort to violence..Agree that the work load is more and at times frustrating but our elite doctors are also expected to deal with such things intelligently and calmly, rather than beating up any person...may be the admin shud reform the rules that might not result in such kinda conflicts..

waise last but one para about "right to info" was hadd humorous..da part i enjoyed the most...haha!

Aashu said...

@ Anamay! This blog is not written to prove our (jr.doc's)innocence in anyway. I also think that we are guilty a bit. What this blog is all about is the media, who has blown off our guilt much disproportionately.
I want to tell u that the blog is written from my perspective so ,it has to be an incomplete truth. Its human nature to present everything a bit biased towards them.........and you will agree that I am a human being...hihihi.......
About the last para............hmmmmmmmmm.......its true that its a bit humourous and that is intentional too......After so much of intensely serious writing there had to be something to cool down.......Its purely for the readers to cool off themselves after reading such a long boring stuf........Wanted to write a bit more humourous with some non-veg talkings but thought that such things are better avoided from a public blog............heheheheheh