July 1 marks the National Doctor’s Day in India. It is celebrated in honour of the birth and death anniversary of the great physician and the second Chief minister of West Bengal, Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy. This day actually serves to show appreciation and gratitude to all those who have tirelessly worked for the health of people.
It has never been more important to appreciate the efforts that doctors have been making to ensure that people sufficiently recover from whatever may be ailing them and continue to remain healthy.
They have been pulling long hours and working round the clock as the world remains gripped with the covid-19 pandemic, arguably the most devastating public health crises ever seen.
The second wave of pandemic, though ebbing now, put entire health systems under immense pressure and stretched it to capacity, almost to the breaking point. As such, responding to this public health emergency and successfully minimizing its impact required every health resource to be leveraged. Amid this crisis, the role of doctors has been immense. Last year, some of them faced acts of violence and as a consequence severely hindered the response. Some even faced stigma as they were dubbed as vectors of contagion. Some have been assaulted. Others were denied even transport while commuting to work. At times, their entire families faced eviction, not only from rented accommodations but even from their homes. Since then, things have changed for the better as far as attacks are concerned. However, it is not the case that the doctors and other covid warriors are altogether safe. They continue to put their life on the line. The covid-19 can be contracted by them as much as any ordinary individual.
Lieutenant Governor and others rightly lauded the pivotal role played by the doctors in clinical management of patients. Truly, the doctors have introduced confidence and strength through their perseverance and unwavering commitment in the midst of unprecedented reality while continuing to make the world waware about the dynamics of the novel virus by enriching research and advancing medical knowledge to facilitate the emergence of a worldwide response to the pandemic.
Doctor’s Day is also an opportunity to thank all the heroes in the medical fraternity for their selfless contributions. One also hopes that the government ensures better protection along with availability of all that they need to ward off against the virus and other future challenges.Â
