Experts point to surveys highlighting discrimination faced by Muslims, Dalits and others at hospitals
\n NEW DELHI
\nA proper grievance redressal system and the continuous education of health workers are needed to ensure that no discrimination is faced by patients at hospitals on the basis of their caste, religion or gender, according to health experts in India.
\nWith the world marking Zero Discrimination Day on Tuesday, experts also urged authorities to take more steps to ensure that citizens are treated equally while utilising the country\u2019s public health services.
\nA number of surveys in the last few years have pointed to the discrimination faced by people on the grounds of their religion or caste while accessing such services.
\nIn November, a report released by UK-based charity Oxfam provided insights into the suffering of patients while availing of health care services. In the survey, Oxfam India found that around 33 per cent of Muslim respondents had said they experienced discrimination at hospitals on the basis of their religion.
\nThe number of Muslims in India according to the 2011 census was 172 million.
\nThe report also noted that over 20 per cent Dalit and Adivasi (tribal) respondents reported having faced discrimination at hospitals.
\nThe Indian caste system divides Hindus into four main categories – Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and the Shudras. Outside this, are the Dalits or the untouchables.
\nIndian public health expert Rajesh Kumar told Anadolu Agency there is a need to have a local grievance mechanism that would address such issues immediately.
\n\u201cIn every public sphere, including the health sector, there is no scope of discrimination because our constitution ensures equality to everyone,\u201d Kumar said.
\n\u201cIf these reports have come up with some findings, then there needs to be a proper mechanism which would deal with the violations and take swift actions to stop similar actions in the future.\u201d
\nThe Oxfam report was not the only one to come up with such findings.
\nThe Centre for Enquiry Into Health and Allied Themes (CEHAT), an Indian organisation, conducted a similar survey earlier in the financial capital Mumbai.
\nIts report, which highlighted the various barriers that Muslim and non-Muslim women face in accessing health services, recommended that \u201chealth system must address these stereotypes and biases of their staff.\u201d
\nSevere problem
\nSangeeta Rege, the coordinator of CEHAT, told Anadolu Agency that the problem is \u201csevere even today and even in metropolitan cities\u201d and maintained that there is a need to address such problems.
\n\u201cThere is an urgent need to educate medical students, nurses and all health workers at a pre-service level to have an intersectional approach to treating and provision of care before these deep-rooted biases set in,\u201d she said.
\nShe added that while they also provide a full day of training for all cadres of health workers on the issue of \u201ccommunalism and how such biases prevent marginalised communities from accessing services,\u201d Rege said that \u201cone-time training is not adequate.\u201d
\n\u201cThis requires long-term engagement with health workers and an ongoing dialogue,\u201d she said.
\nIn 2019, a study of outpatient appointments at one major tertiary care hospital in the capital New Delhi published in the British Medical Journal\u2019s online journal BMJ Open, had suggested that there was \u201cextensive gender discrimination in health care access\u201d for women in India.
\n\u201cThis calls for systematic societal and governmental action,\u201d the researchers said, adding their study \u201chas important implications for gender-related health policy which has so far focused on maternal health.\u201d
\nNo discrimination by doctors
\nDr. Sahajanand Prasad Singh, national president of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), an organisation that represents doctors in India, told Anadolu Agency there was no such discrimination happening from the side of doctors.
\n\u201cFor a doctor, every patient is equal, and no discrimination happens on the basis of religion or caste,\u201d he said. \u201cHowever, if such things are reported from the health care side, it should be addressed.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Experts point to surveys highlighting discrimination faced by Muslims, Dalits and others at hospitals NEW DELHI A proper grievance redressal system and the continuous education of health workers are needed to ensure that no discrimination is faced by patients at hospitals on the basis of their caste, religion or gender, according to health experts in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-247203","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n