‘India should follow indigenous healthcare pattern’

Dr A N Safaya is the director of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences (SSSIHMS), a 330-bed superspeciality hospital dedicated to providing service free of cost treatment to anyone and everyone. Dr Safaya graduated in medicine in Agra Medical College and did his post graduation in Srinagar Medical College. He joined the Government of Kashmir and served as medical officer in Gulmarg and various health centres in Kashmir. In 1965 he joined the AIIMS as a professor and scientist and was the medical superintendent of the institute for 19 years. Since 1991 he is in the capacity of director in the SSSIHMS at Puttaparthy in Andhra Pradesh. In January this year he was also made the director of the SSSIHMS in Whitefield. Dr Safaya speaks about SSSIHMS in an exclusive interview with Vijaya K. Excerpts.

How would you describe the healthcare scenario in the country?

Medical science today is in turmoil. It has raised ethical issues like surrogate mothers, pregnancy related problems, cloning and gene therapy. The race for technological development in healthcare has taken the doctor away from man as a human being. The entire medical system is commercialised because of high cost technological development. Today spiritual leadership is also essential to achieve the mission of stabilisation of healthcare and future of human race and this leadership is being provided by Bhagwan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, at present, practically in the form of his hospital.}

What are the salient features of SSSIHMS?

The basic tenets of the hospital are the four pillars of Sathya Sai medical mission: decommercialisation of medicine, humanisation of medicine, globalisation of medicine and spiritualisation of medicine. Behaviour of the personnel from the top level to the lowest rung is taken care of. Work ethos is taken into consideration. Highly qualified students from Sathya Sai University who have dedicated their selfless service for the poor, work in all areas of the hospital as technical officers. Dedication, motivation and community seva participation of Sathya Sai Sevadal are the key factors for the success of the hospital.

What are the reasons for the present state of healthcare in this country?

Healthcare in this country has been distributed to state governments. What is left with the Centre is also vague. What is now called a primary health care is merely a first aid centre. PHCs are unable to provide a decent accommodation for a serving doctor. There is almost a complete failure of primary health services today. The doctor at primary healthcare level is completely dissatisfied. If leadership of the doctor fails, rest everything fails.

What steps are needed to be taken to upgrade primary health?

Healthcare services should be taken on basis of war-footing. Primary healthcare is the key to total healthcare status of this country. Unless healthcare services are centralised, situation cannot improve.

Can India become a global healthcare destination?

How is this possible if our leaders think that doctors are no good here? Healthcare today has become very expensive because industrialists of this country do not play an active role. The money utilised for the purchase of imported equipment can be used more purposefully if we produce indigenous equipment. Unless we change radically and raise the status of healthcare in India, in the eyes of politicians and planners we cannot become a global destination for healthcare. With the health insurance coming in, treatment is going to be costly, leading to escalation of treatment cost. With prices of drugs increasing, the future of healthcare for a common Indian is not very rosy.

Should healthcare be given industry status?

Industry status for healthcare only helps in settling legal issues. It will not help strengthen patient-doctor relationship. Healthcare should follow indigenous pattern. Inspite of having the best infrastructure, capability of making equipment we want everything imported. The raw materials go from India and comes back to us as finished product.

What is the mission of SSSIHMS?

The poor should not be deprived of hi-tech health services, be it diagnosis or the treatment. Both the Sathya Sai hospitals were established in order to create a prototype for others to follow in the country and abroad. We alone cannot wipe away all the tears and diseases of the poor and treat all the heart patients in the world. Others have to join the mission.