Hyderabad: Doctors oppose bridge course

Hyderabad: The bridge course for dentists and Ayush doctors will allow cross pathy a future in the country. However, allopathic doctors state that such a move is going to put the lives of the people at risk. With the Dental Council of India being included in the proposal to provide mid-level healthcare, the Indian Medical Association argues that such short cuts will prove counterproductive in the long run in that they might put people’s lives at risk.

There happens to be a large number of seats in private dental colleges which are lying vacant owing to the scarcity of aspirants. Only 40 out the 300 dental colleges in the country have adequate takers. Dr K. K. Aggarwal, president-elect, the Confe-deration of Medical Asso-ciations in Asia and Oceania, explained, “The bridge course comes as a lifeline for private dental colleges and enables dentists to practice as general physicians. The World Health Organisation has found the global dentist to population ratio to be 1:7500. In India, the ratio is currently holding at 1:8000. Further, the majority of this dentist population is concentrated in urban areas, while in rural areas, there is on an average only 1 dentist for every 50,000 people.”

Dr Narsinga Reddy, senior member of the IMA, Hyderabad, explained, “The government has been trying to bring in alternative courses to bridge the gap. However, what they really need to focus on is improving rural care. Shortcuts won’t help. They will, in fact, put our rural population at risk.”

The present deficit of 6,00,000 doctors cannot be met by introducing bridge courses. It requires policy intervention in terms of strengthening public health centres with qualified general physicians to operate and provide the required care.