Inhuman doctors

I was recently contacted by a fellow dialyzor from India. He has been on dialysis for more than 15 years now. He has had some tough times. I was appalled however to read about the attitude of his doctors. He has got no support from them.

Doctors have a special responsibility. They are not dealing with machines. They are not even dealing with human beings who have had a normal life. People with chronic conditions go through a huge amount of mental stress and depression. They deserve a lot of compassion. Who knows this better than a doctor?

Doctors know exactly what a patient goes through. They know the symptoms, the pain and suffering. They know the side effects and all the co-morbidities that people on dialysis have to deal with. How can some of them then be so indifferent to the plight of their patients?

Again, all doctors are not like that. I have, for the most part, had doctors that were extremely considerate. They would happily engage in a discussion about my condition. They would answer all my questions very satisfactorily. Sadly, all of them are not like that.

The person in question has been threatened with discontinuation of his dialysis if a particular wish of his doctor was not fulfilled. (I am intentionally leaving out the details because I don't want to compromise his position.) This kind of blackmail is downright evil. It is against the basic tenets of humanity, let alone the medical profession.

The techs in his unit are hardly qualified. He is not answered properly when he asks questions regarding his dialysis. I can tell that he wants to know. Which is a very good thing. He browses the internet looking for answers his doctor should be giving him.

This is really bad. We really need a support system for people on dialysis in India. Where people can go to when they are faced with problems like this. Some doctors can be quite vindictive if they realize you are taking action against them. We need a system by which patients can be educated on their options and how to get the answers they want without compromising their treatment due to the offended sensibilities of their doctors.

Merely blogging about this is not enough.