New Delhi: Dr Sabyasachi Bal was a professor of surgery at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). Disgruntled with the system and the work environment, he resigned recently to join a private hospital.
He insists that money was not the reason for his decision. "There is a problem in working. If you want to work, there will be a thousand obstacles. There is difficulty in getting what you want," says Dr Bal.
"As far as resources are concerned, there is no encouragement for working hard and finally, the people who are above you, will actually try to cut you down to size so that you cannot perform," he adds.
In the last three years, nearly 30 senior doctors have resigned. And in the past three months alone, more than 10 doctors have quit.
While attractive salaries is one of the reasons for this exodus, the doctors also accuse the Director of the institute, Professor Venugopal, of being autocratic.
The doctors allege that there is no communication between the administration and the faculty. They are also levelling charges of favouritsm and nepotism.
Professor Chief, Geriatric Services, Dr AB Dey, says, "We have a system where HoDs are chosen by seniority, so one can be the Head of Department for 20 years. So, it is possible that if some faculty member is not in tune with his HoD, his prefessional life will be totally decimated."
Insiders say that more resignations are in the offing. If this happens, the premier institute's reputation will have to take a beating.
A former Director, AIIMS, Professor Lalit Mohan Nath, reasons, "It was never designed to be a general care hospital. Today, it is a general care hospital and this has an adverse effect on the level of patient care, the level of research and even the level of medical education."
The director of AIIMS is not available for any clarification or comment, but the mass exodus of the doctors is a reality and underlining this is the larger issue of crumbling systems management.
What's most disappointing is that this has not happened in a day, but has been piling up over the years and calls for immediate attention.
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