KOLKATA: The new health commission might have made the right noises at its first meeting on Wednesday, but it needed to prove its impartiality, felt the medical community. Most of them were ostensibly relieved that the commission would not be take up cases in retrospect, but pointed out that it still needed to prove its neutrality by being fair and patient while handling complaints of negligence against doctors."It feels good to hear the commission assured doctors of fair handling of complaints.This is a good beginning but it remains to be seen how the panel functions. Their real test will be while handling complaints of medical negligence .We will expect them to be fair, logical and scientific in their approach. Only then can they win everyone's confidence," said Alok Roy , chairman of Medica Superspecialty , which is now facing inquiry for two cases of medical negligence.There was yet nothing to indicate how the commission would function, said a senior official at an EM Bypass hospi tal. "We shall wait and watch how things unfold over the next few weeks. Once the complaints start pouring in and the commission addresses them that their real intent will be clear. Even though we don't suspect their motive, it remains to be seen if they will really act independently ," he said.Cardiac surgeon Kunal Sarkar said the events of the last one month has set the state's private healthcare industry back by five-seven years. "The damage that has been done is substantial. The patient-doctor relationship has been affected, profits have dropped and doctors are scared. The healthcare industry can't absorb more shock than any other sector. If the situation persists for two-three more months, both doctors and private hospitals will feel the pinch. I won't be surprised if hospitals start downsizing and a number of doctors lose their job," said Sarkar.A paediatrician, now hesitant to accept critical cases, pointed out that merely assuring doctors of fair treatment was not enough. "The commission has tried to be politically correct by promising fairness.But so far, the government's approach has been far from being fair. Doctors and hospitals have been cornered and vilified without any reason. While patients' families threaten us, the government seems to join in. A deep-rooted insecurity now prevails that won't go away unless the government, or the commission, proves that it is ready to be fair. A lot needs to be done to repair the damage," said the doctor.

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