9.

ETHICS
9.1. MEDICAL ETHICS-ATTACKS ON DOCTORS
Why in news?
Recently, various incidents were witnessed involving assault on doctors where five doctors were attacked in
Maharashtra. This issue raises several ethical concerns regarding our public healthcare system where blame
game is seen. The patients blame doctors and doctors blame the broken health system. This article analyse the
issues from both the perspectives
Issues from the point of view of doctors
 Overstretched working hours: Doctors are clocking in even 36 hours of duty at a stretch which makes it
difficult for them to deal empathetically with anxious relatives
 Lack of resources in hospitals: the blame of scarce resources are put on doctors which is not their fault.
 Unrealistic expectation: of quick and complete improvement irrespective of illness in the patient.
Issues from the point of view of patients
 Lack of empathy: The doctors need to work on doctor-patient relationships and show empathy while
communicating news of death or critical condition of patient.
 No grievance redressal system: There should be an established system where patient can register their
protest. It will also help in avoiding targets on doctors.
 Lack of services: patients reaching public hospitals are poor and meek and travel a lot to reach hospitals and
when they are told medicine or some facilities are not available, they would be agitated.
 Public perception of doctors: as life givers has drastically changed with increasing privatization and
commercialization.
The attacks on doctors by relatives of patients points towards following ethical issues
 Prestige of doctor: who gets assaulted in front of his patients when he goes back to work
 Inhumane beating up of doctors: to the tune that one doctor on referring the patient to another hospital
owing to lack of facilities, was so brutally assaulted that he is on the verge of losing his vision
 Negligence on the part of security in hospital administration in public hospitals.
 Poor implementation of laws for doctor’s safety: Thus, no deterrent effect on relatives
Way forward
 At the time of treatment, only few relatives may be allowed to accompany the patient but this would need
the recruitment of more supporting staff in hospitals as relatives of patients at times help in pushing
wheelchair, getting medicines, running around calling the relevant persons etc.
 Security system should be strengthened so that backup personnel can reach hospital on time.
 Establishing a grievance redressal mechanism.
 The system of investigation should be strengthened and cases of assault should be efficiently taken up to
penalize the persons at fault.
 A liaison officer may be appointed to maintain healthy relationship of hospital with the patient’s relatives.
 Doctor patient ratio needs to be improved as these incidents are more in poor ratio states.

9.2. RESPONSIBILITY OF CELEBRITY ENDORSERS

Why in news?
 Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has issued a set of guidelines encouraging celebrities to do due
diligence of the claims made in the ads they endorse.
Background
 Celebrity endorsements have been established as a sure shot method to sell the product in recent times.

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 Celebrities in India enjoy a godly status and people buy products because of the name celebrity endorsing it
and not necessarily the product itself.

Ethical Issues/Challenges Involved

 Do celebrities use the products they endorse? If not, then, is it ethical for them to make certain claims on
behalf of the brand?
 Is it fair on the producers of a brand that the image of a brand be tarnished solely on the personal
controversy of a celebrity who endorses it?
 Is fair that producers play on the consumer’s impulsive buying behaviour using celebrities as a pawn to sell
unnecessary/harmful products?
 Is it ethical for a celebrity who commands mass popularity to endorse products/services that harm the fabric
of the society in general such as gender discrimination?
What needs to be done?
 Celebrities should be held accountable for the products they endorse as proposed in the Consumer
Protection Bill, 2015.
 A set of guidelines about the dos and don’ts of advertising must be communicated to the producers in order
to protect the consumer from being duped and also to avoid promotion of hurtful and discriminatory
notions.
 Advertisements must have warning whenever required whether it related to financial security, health
hazard, claims of guaranteed results etc.
 Producers must be held accountable for making false claims.
 Producers should focus on brand building and not on celebrity endorsement in order to sell their product.

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