Mahinder Patyal
Bharmour
Concerns have been voiced over the state government’s newly launched robotic surgery program. Bharmaur MLA and renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Janak Raj, who earlier held senior positions at IGMC Shimla, has questioned the practicality of introducing such high-cost technology when basic healthcare needs remain unmet for a large section of the population.
Dr. Raj emphasized that strengthening primary healthcare services, reducing overcrowding in hospitals, and ensuring timely and dignified treatment for patients should be the government’s foremost priorities. He warned that without robust basic facilities, advanced and expensive technologies like robotic surgery will fail to benefit ordinary and economically weaker patients.
Citing the “cobra effect” as an example, he explained how poorly designed policies can sometimes worsen problems instead of solving them. He urged policymakers to consider ground realities before framing health strategies, so that measures taken genuinely ease public hardships rather than add to them.
Highlighting the need for evidence-based decisions, Dr. Raj stressed that health-related data and reports must be interpreted in the right context. He called for expanding healthcare infrastructure, ensuring adequate availability of doctors and staff in hospitals, and strengthening essential medical services across the state.
Appealing to the government, Dr. Raj said health policies should be made more practical and effective, keeping in mind the needs of the poor and patients from remote areas, so that every citizen of the state can access better and affordable treatment.
