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HEALTH SECTOR IN INDIA

HEALTH SECTOR IN INDIA

Health care system in India and its base. India is a democratic country. Providing primary health care of the people is the responsibility of the Government. This is true that India is a vast country and set up a better health system is a big challenge. About 70% population of India live in the rural area. The government is constantly striving to provide primary health care.

There are many differences in quality between rural and urban areas of India as well as public and private health services. Despite this, India remains a popular destination for foreign medical tourists due to the relatively low cost and high quality of its private hospitals.

There are hospitals in India excelling in standards when compared to any hospital in the UK or the US. There are skilled surgeons and physicians in India who have made a mark in their respective fields. But the most unfortunate thing is, the services of these surgeons and physicians have not reached all sections of the population. If the benefit has to reach even the poorest of the poor, the system of medical care delivery has to change.

Steps to be taken

Enabling Preventive Care: In order to promote preventive care, the Union government has announced the conversion of primary health care centres into Health and Wellness Centers (HWCs). These HWCs will act as the pillar of preventive care and ‘gateway’ for access to secondary and tertiary health services. Thus, there is a need to accelerate the establishment of a network HWCs, for this extra funding through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can be mobilised.

Bringing Behavioural Change: There is a need to ensure people eat right, sleep right, maintain good hygiene, exercise, and adopt a healthy lifestyle that necessitates concerted interventions at various levels of the system.

Cooperative Federalism: Given the major role that States have to play in creating strong health systems across the country, allocations provided by the Finance Commission can become the critical catalyst for transforming the nation’s health.

More Funding: Public funding on health should be increased to at least 2.5% of GDP as envisaged in the National Health Policy, 2017.

Decentralisation: There is a need to make nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) part of the core functions of Panchayati raj institutions and municipalities.

Creating a Nodal Health Agency: There is need to create a designated and autonomous focal agency with the required capacities and linkages to perform the functions of disease surveillance, information gathering on the health impact of policies of key non-health departments, maintenance of national health statistics, enforcement of public health regulations, and dissemination of information to the public.

In India, if someone becomes ill or suffers from an accident, they have two options: one is to go to a government-run hospital, the other is to get a private medical service. It is very expensive. It is not for everyone to take private medical services.

This is a major catastrophe even for the middle class. The process of awarding compensation of a few thousand to the injured after some years by a court is no remedy, for the ailing poor. On the other hands, if he goes to a private hospital, he has to shell out a heavy amount of money. It further throws strain on the already uncompensated family.

The private hospitals are not to be blamed. Worldwide, medicare is becoming costly every day and even the most developed countries have started feeling the pinch of it. It is true that quality medicare is expensive in India too. If you want something good, you have to pay a price.

The government should pay for those below the poverty line. And the middle class and the rich should pay on their own to avail medical facilities. Public health programmes should be entrusted to private hospitals under the supervision of the government. Doctors will have more work to do for better remuneration. They will be inclined to spread out to rural areas. Patients will get the best possible care. Insurance companies dealing in the medical field ‘should be monitored by the government agencies and special courts should be set up to deal with disputes between doctors and the insurance companies.

When we assess the medical field in India we find that we have the best policies in hand. But implementation is bad. The family planning programme is a standing example, in Spite of which we are second in the world in terms of population. So, let us wake up before it is too late and work for the effective implementation of the policies of the Health care system in India.

 

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