Pay bribe, will complete operation
Among the most heart-breaking and unforgettable reports we have encountered is that of a doctor in Amritsar who demanded and got a bribe of Rs 2,000 from a poor girl to complete a half-done operation for her brother lying unconscious on the operating table (http://ipaidabribe.com/bribe-central/bribe-operation-table). This incident which took place many years ago at Amritsar, that too in a government hospital, is particularly shameful. In a similar incident reported by one of our respondents, a cardio-surgeon based in a government hospital in Bangalore called up the individual a day before the scheduled heart surgery for his father and requested a bribe of Rs 10,000. The doctor coolly told him that he was asking for the amount so since his salary was really poor. The doctor also assured good care for his father once the demand was met. The patient’s son ended up paying the amount. In his own words: I was helpless considering my dad's situation.
These incidents are shameful on too many counts: Firstly, the doctors chose to play with the lives in their custody at such a crucial moment to get some money. This is pure blackmail which implies that if the demands were not met by the families, the lives of the patients were at stake. Secondly, the greed of the doctors was so high that they took into consideration neither the condition of the patients nor the financial position of those from whom the demands were being made. The doctors have also clearly made a mockery of the life-saving role the noble profession is supposed to be entrusted with. Among the various principles a doctor swears by when taking the Hippocratic Oath at the time of entering practice figure these words: I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone. These words also find place in the oath: In every house where I come I will enter only for the good of my patients, keeping myself far from all intentional ill-doing….