Values, ethics change when money comes into play - Dr. Ravichandran

Nilma DOLE

"I was told that I may die on the doctor's table when I was admitted to the Mission Hospital in Madras", said Abeysinghe, a kidney patient. "I went to several doctors and no one could tell me what was wrong with me, some treated me for T.B. instead for kidney", said the proprietor of "Sensaal", the wellknown bakery man.

These are some of the complaints that came across, from a cross section of Sri Lankans who had no doctor to turn to, when they had problems with their kidneys.

Today, These people are full of smiles and full of praise for Dr. P. Ravichandran, Chief Consultant and Head of Nephrology and Transplantation Department of Kidney Diseases and Institute of Organ Transplantation (KIOT) Chennai, popularly known as St. Thomas Hospital.

The specialist is one of South Asia's most well-known nephrologists who the Midas touch in curing kidney patients who have gone through a miserable period. One who was on the verge of dying said that at one point, his ECG reading was just a thin strip across the screen. "I was so relieved so when I met Dr. Ravichandran because he gave a personalised treatment to his patients and keeps a check on them all the time sometimes criss-crossing the country", said Abeysinghe who had undergone kidney transplant few days after consulting Dr. Ravichandran.

"There are many to prevent us from helping the society because when finance overrules health since everyone wants to make money out of health", he said.

Moreover he said that the moment, money comes into play, values and ethics change. Dr. Ravichandran said that he believes that society should only take what is necessary from Western ideals by inculcating the local culture too. "At the beginning, they said that you should spend lavishly and now after the economic recession, the West are trying to bring back old values saying that you shouldn't be too lavish and development should be sustainable", he said. Further, the doctor commented that the traditional culture that has been passed from our ancestors are quickly being forgotten.

"We prefer to import all our food, which is high in acids containing preservatives and we hardly grow our own food nowadays - even our agricultural system doesn't teach the young student how to plant a tree!", highlighted the doctor.

Healthy diet

Dr. Ravichandran said that you should have some Western influence in your diet but most of it must be eating a balanced and healthy diet which is important to have a healthy outlook. Dr. Ravichandran has also headed a team at The Kidney Diseases and Institute of Organ Transplantation (KIOT), Chennai to research into possible anti-venom drugs that can be kept with villagers in the rural areas. "The anti-venom drug is presently taken from dead animals but we have researched that we need only the gland that secretes the venom to make the anti-vemon which villagers can keep with them when trekking in the jungles", said the doctor. Dr.Ravichandran, with his colleagues at the hospital, also invented a herbal dialysis system for curing patients suffering from Hepatitis B and C. "For the first time in the world the herbal dialysis systems has been used by the hospital for treating and curing patients affected by the Hepatitis B and C virus and we developed the treatment extensive research", said Dr. Ravichandran.

The kidney specialist has been very open-minded about Sri Lankan doctors and professionals to undergo training in the health sector. "I think we should train our Buddhist monks and religious leaders in making them into doctors because temples are places where people come to worship and seek solace", said Dr. Ravichandran.

He said that the whole concept of the university system was incorporated by Buddhism but today, we go to the West to get recognised qualifications. "Today, Western universities are now adopting `spiritual studies' in their curriculum but these have been practised by our ancestors for generations" concluded Dr. Ravichandran. Hence, we should follow our own culture because it is the best prevention for any disease.