Rising population has put strain on medical services: Docs

Rising population has put strain on medical services - Dr Shivani Sachdev Gour

Eminent doctors of the National Capital Territory of Delhi on the occasion of the World Population Day today expressed concern over the continuing increase in the population which was putting serious strain on the state and quality of health services.

They were unanimous over the fact that while the population has been increasing at a constant rate, the health services, especially in some key areas, have not been able to keep pace with it.

These doctors, specialists in their own respective fields, were reacting to a question posed to them whether the recent advances in health care in the country had been able to keep pace with growing population.

Dr Sonali Gaur, pediatrician and gynaecologist, Umkal Healthcare says that the increase in population results in depletion of resources which in turn affects the developing countries the most as they have large population.

Also the level of education and awareness about medical issues is low in these countries which results in increase in medical costs and expenditures.

Dr Samir Parikh, consultant psychiatrist, Max Healthcare, said while the population was increasing at a fast pace, the same could not be said about the state of mental health services in India. This was a very neglected area and according to WHO estimate, the number of mental health experts was very low in India. “This is an area of serious concern which needs proper care and attention,” he said.

Dr Shivani Sachdev Gour, infertility specialist, SCI Healthcare, said with the constant increase in population, the stress levels, work pressure and the levels of pollution were also on the rise and as a consequence the cases of male infertility were also increasing along with reduced sperm count in males.

Dr Devansh, cosmetic surgeon, Max Healthcare, states that as the population is constantly on the rise, there is a need that is felt in individuals to stand apart from the crowd or simply, look different. It is precisely because of this that more people were going in for cosmetic surgery to improve their looks or be just different.

Dr Amit Bhargav, oncologist, Max Healthcare, claimed that the only direct relationship between increasing population and cancer was that with the increase in population there has been an increase in cases of cancer that have been diagnosed.

Dr Vinita Jha, psychologist, Umkal Healthcare, Gurgaon however, sees a silver lining and says that there are evidences to prove that there are evidences to prove that a stressed out population has much lesser rate of population growth.

The increased level of stress these days can prove beneficial for a country like India in population control which otherwise has a very high rate of growth.