Media Coverage | 16-02-2025
Maharashtra minister of medical education Hasan Mushrif presenting the Lokmat Times Excellence in Healthcare International Award to Senior vice-president, Mount Sinai Hospital, New York and chairman, Eternal Heart Care Centre and Research Institute, Jaipur Dr Samin Sharma while Chairman of Editorial Board of Lokmat Media Group Dr Vijay Darda, renowned gastroenterologist and endoscopy expert and chairman of Institute of Gastrosciences, Sir H N Reliance Foundation Hospital (Mumbai), Padma Shri Dr Amit Maydeo and chairman of Jury Board Padma Shri Dr Chandrashekhar Meshram look on.
Maharashtra minister of medical education Hasan Mushrif and Chairman of Editorial Board of Lokmat Media Group Dr Vijay Darda, presenting the Lokmat Times Excellence in Healthcare International Award to consultant endochrinologist and CEO of British Association of Physician of India Origin (BAPIO) Training Academy, UK, Dr Parag Singhal.
Maharashtra minister of medical education Hasan Mushrif and renowned gastroenterologist and endoscopy expert and chairman of Institute of Gastrosciences, Sir H N Reliance Foundation Hospital (Mumbai), Padma Shri Dr Amit Maydeo presenting the Lokmat Times Excellence in Healthcare Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr D S Raut.
Maharashtra minister of medical education Hasan Mushrif presenting the Lokmat Times Excellence in Healthcare Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr Manjula Rohatgi.
Infection may be causing heart problems in India,
says Dr Samin Sharma
Lokmat News Network
Nagpur
Senior vice-president of Mount Sinai Hospital, New York and chairman of Eternal Heart Care Centre and Research Institute, Jaipur, Dr Samin Sharma on Saturday said infections could be a reason for heart diseases among people from lower economic strata in rural areas, where pollution levels are low. “Some people, who had no history of heart problems in the US, developed it after returning from India. This was probably due to infections. Infections may cause heart diseases in India. Heart diseases in India are increasing a lot but all the reasons are not known. In the US, one million stents are used every year whereas the number is 750 million in India. Most of the heart transplants take place in India,” he added.
A study of developed and developing countries among all economic classes has found common reasons for heart diseases including high levels of LDL cholesterol, sedentary lifestyle, high blood pressure, obesity and genetics. While genetics can’t be controlled, environmental factors can be easily regulated. “Devote time to yourself. Too much work and too little sleep is bad for health,” he said.
“It is better to go for a CT scan of the heart after you cross 40 years of age for men and 50 years for women. If the scan is okay then there is no reason to worry but if it is abnormal then get other tests done. Annual check-up is done in developed countries but not in India. If regular check-ups are done there won’t be any complication,” the cardiologist stressed. A 50% increase in life of patients of a population can be achieved by preventing diseases, he added.
Dr Sharma further said heart diseases in India and the US continue to rise but mortality in the US is decreasing while it is increasing in India. One reason is poor availability of healthcare to the average person in India. Pollution is another reason for heart diseases. The heart diseases had almost vanished during the Covid pandemic because of a sharp reduction in pollution.
Aim to bring UK patients to India
for treatment: Dr Parag Singhal
Lokmat News Network
Nagpur
Consultant endocrinologist and CEO of British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO) Training Academy, UK, Dr Parag Singhal on Saturday said his aim was to enhance healthcare facilities in India to such a level that patients from the United Kingdom come to India for medical treatment. “BAPIO is presently training Indian healthcare professionals to provide services in the UK. But the UK also must give something in return. We will train doctors here so that UK patients can avail treatment in India,” he stressed.
Dr Singhal spoke at length about activities of BAPIO Training Academy in India and especially Nagpur. BAPIO’s objective is to promote excellence among doctors working in India as well as the UK. It introduced an Indo-UK four-year composite programme for MBBS doctors. This was for those who don’t want to do post-graduation in India or had not managed to get admission or harboured the desire of studying and working in the UK.
“We train doctors for two years in India and then for another two years in the UK. It’s an innovative niche and first of its kind in the history of Indo-UK relations,” he said.
Dr Singhal further said the initiative was a leap of faith because people weren’t sure of its success. “The Indian high commissioner in 2020 Ruchi Ghanashyam was not convinced but still we launched it. The programme became highly successful. We wanted to create an environment of critical thinking. You can learn medicine by reading books but teachers are required to convert knowledge into practice; education is not learning facts, it is training the mind to think. Today young doctors have lost the skill and we wanted them to acquire it,” Dr Singhal explained.
The eminent endocrinologist said Nagpur played a major role in BAPIO’s mission. “The first centre in the country for our MRCP (Membership of Royal College of Physicians) four-year course started in KIMS-Kingsway Hospital, Nagpur due to the initiative of Dr Raju Khandelwal. The trainees from here after going to the UK are flying high. The UK hospitals eagerly want to hire them. Now we are expanding across India,” he said. He said unnecessary medical investigations were a wastage of money and burdened the patient.
“In the UK, five million pounds are wasted every year on unnecessary investigations. We have therefore introduced an MBA in Healthcare course. Those who complete this course are able to do away with such tests,” said Dr Singhal, stressing that critical thinking was very important in the practice of medicine.
He said there were 65,000 Indian origin doctors in the UK and BAPIO had taken their help in advising patients during the Covid pandemic in India. “We took the help of technology and did this virtually for free by linking up the doctors via WhatsApp,” he informed. He said the MRCP was now promoting a programme of ‘Heal by India’ and ‘Heal in India’.
Dr Singhal said so far 300 Indians trained as radiographists have been sent to the UK. The figure for those trained in echocardiography was 40. BAPIO was now planning to train audiologists. BAPIO also wants that research work done in India be put in the form of a portfolio and registered in the UK.
Dr Meshram urges to make life-saving drugs cheaper
Lokmat News Network
Nagpur
Eminent neurologist Padma Shri Dr Chandrashekhar Meshram urged the Central and the state governments to pay more attention to the health sector. “There is an urgent need to increase the health budget but unfortunately the health sector is the last priority of the government,” he said.
Highlighting other concerns, Dr Meshram said the cost of life-saving drugs should be reduced by slashing GST and customs duty. He called for an increase in the health budget and pointed out that the condition of healthcare in rural hospitals was still very poor. “Healthcare should be affordable,” he maintained.
Dr Meshram was making the introductory remarks at the Lokmat Times Excellence in Healthcare Awards as the chairman of the Jury Board that selected the award winners for the fourth edition of the prestigious event.
He listed several medicine combinations and noted that pharmaceutical companies had stopped the production of many essential medicines due to lack of profit margin. This should be rectified, he said. Many psychiatric diseases like depression, schizophrenia and many other common diseases should be covered under the government’s health insurance schemes. The government also needs to go for faculty development in government hospitals. He pointed out that neurological and psychiatric diseases were a stigma in India. “The World Federation of Neurology (WFN) has designed a programme with the Union ministry of health as partner to address this problem,” he said. Expressing concern over long working hours of the resident doctors in hospitals, Dr Meshram said they are made to work for 24 hours at a stretch, which is highly stressful.
“All hospitals should follow the practices of Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, where working hours for residents are not so long,” he said.
Dr Meshram also spoke about safety of medical professionals and brain health as indicated under the 10-year Intersectoral Global Action Plan (IGAP) by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to improve access to treatment and care for people with neurological disorders worldwide. He said special attention, public education and awareness was required for diseases like epilepsy which were treatable. He also urged medical education minister Mushrif, to look into these issues.
The renowned neurologist and trustee of the World Federation of Neurology said the WHO had identified 20 diseases, many of which were endemic to India.
Disclosing that one-third of all deaths due to rabies in the world occur in India, he said he has conveyed to the Maharashtra chief minister that medical professionals were willing to extend help in combating these diseases.
Only doctors are following
humanity ‘dharma’: Dr Darda
Lokmat News Network
Nagpur
Lamenting that the society is divided into various castes, creeds and religions today, the chairman of editorial board of Lokmat Media Group and former Member of Rajya Sabha Dr Vijay Darda said only doctors are following the ‘dharma’ of humanity. “The doctor doesn’t ask the patient his caste, creed or religion before treating him. They don’t discriminate among patients. Humanity is their only religion,” he added.
He was speaking at the glittering ceremony of the fourth edition of Lokmat Times Excellence in Healthcare Awards here on Saturday. Dr Darda elaborated upon the philosophy behind honouring doctors. “My father, veteran freedom fighter Jawaharlal Darda, who was popularly known as Babuji, sowed the seed of the Lokmat Media Group to bring about a social change. He believed in the media remaining impartial in the worship of ‘insaan’ (human beings) and not discriminating on the basis of caste, creed and religion. Doctors too should follow this principle,” he maintained.
Dr Darda said though Lokmat Media Group did its duty in critiquing the medical professionals, it also appreciated the contributions made by medical institutions and individuals. “Your contribution towards humanity cannot be ignored,” he said.
Praising Indian doctors, Dr Darda said people from neighbouring countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka come to India for medical treatment. “When patients from these countries return to their respective nations after being treated, they speak highly of India. Their perception about India changes. This is the soft power of India,” he noted, adding that Indian doctors were highly successful and well regarded even in the developed countries like the United States and the United Kingdom.
However, Dr Darda expressed dissatisfaction with the present state of healthcare in the country. “The Central government has allocated 9% of the budget outlay to the health sector. Most of it will go to medical education but what about hospitals especially in rural areas. If the children of a country are not healthy, what will be its future,” he asked.
He also appreciated the contributions of the award winners and expressed his gratitude towards the Jury Board members who gave their valuable time in selecting this year’s awardees. “A two-hour meeting would often stretch for hours, much beyond the scheduled time, and yet the Jury Board members continued to deliberate and select the awardees,” he said.
Praising Indian doctors, Dr Darda said people from neighbouring countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka come to India for medical treatment. “When patients from these countries return to their respective nations after being treated, they speak highly of India.
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