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Open House: how to improve health services in rural areas?

Ensure availability of doctors, medicines

The high disease burden in the country due to lack of safe drinking water, pollution, under-nutrition, poor living conditions, population explosion and poor access to preventive and curative health services have impeded the progress of health programmes such as the National Health Mission and Ayushman Bharat.

Ensure availability of doctors, medicines

An outside view of a Primary Health Centre turned into a health and wellness centre in Beant Nagar, Bathinda. File photo



Prevent exploitation by private hospitals

The high disease burden in the country due to lack of safe drinking water, pollution, under-nutrition, poor living conditions, population explosion and poor access to preventive and curative health services have impeded the progress of health programmes such as the National Health Mission and Ayushman Bharat. The Ayushman Bharat scheme aims at converting 1.5 lakh Primary Health Centres in the country into health and wellness centres to take primary health care closer to homes of rural citizens. But the lack of qualified and well-trained health workers and doctors, expensive and counterfeit medication and drugs, poorly-regulated medical profession, medical negligence, exploitation of patients and over-billing by private players, overcrowding, lack of accountability, unethical practices and corruption have made all health interventions useless. Not only the government but general public, including civil and private hospitals, too have to come forward to ensure success of such schemes.

Col Virender (retd) 

Increase health, education budget 

The state health system is in shambles and needs overhauling. Punjab Government seems to be ignoring health and education sectors and even the Union Government appears to be doing the same. It is recommended that atleast five to six per cent of the total budget should be spent on helath and education. Sadly, as per estimates, only two to three per cent is being spent. First of all, the budget should be increased. Next, doctors appointed on contract on meagre salaries of 15 to 30 thousand, should be given full scale as they spend about six years and approximately Rs 30 lakh on MBBS degree before taking the job. X-ray and other machines bought for hospitals lie non-functional for months due to a shortage of technicians. Also, no specialist doctors are appointed in Civil Hospitals. Many doctors remain busy in court cases. In many villages, doctors do not reach their dispensaries for duties and their work is being done by pharmacists. The state government should send a team to understand the usefulness and functioning of Mohalla Clinics and implement such schemes in the state.   

Prof Rajnish Kumar

Replicate concept of delhi mohalla clinics

The Punjab government claims to have initiated many welfare schemes with an aim to provide quality medical services to the people. But the ground reality is contrary to the claims. Due to lack of proper facilities at government hospitals and dispensaries, those, who can afford high medical expenses, prefer private hospitals and private medical practitioners for treatment. If the government is really serious about providing top-class medical care to the people, especially the have-nots, it must learn form the success of Delhi's Mohalla Clinics, where qualified doctors are available for the health services for poor. Medical tests facilities are also available at these clinics. These clinics provide free medicines to the people. The scheme has proved to be a boon for the people of Delhi. Apart from this, even emergency services are provided by the Delhi Health Department at all hours. Punjab should follow suit and provide top-class medical facilities to the people, particularly those living below poverty line in villages and small towns. To achieve the goal, the state government must increase its health budget and inculcate a sense of service in all employees of the Health department. 

Pursharth Joshi

Ensure presence of doctors in villages    

What to talk of providing quality medical services at doorsteps, the health and wellness centers scheme has miserably failed to provide even the basic medical facilities in the government hospitals and dispensaries to common people. The situation is worse in the rural areas. In most of the cases, doctors, paramedical staff and even medicines are not available in the rural dispensaries. If the Department of Health and Family Welfare is really interested in providing proper healthcare facilities to the people, it must make sure that adequate number of doctors, supporting staff and sufficient medicines are made available at the health institutions. For this, the state government must increase the health budget. At the same time, it must evolve a mechanism to ensure the presence of the staff posted in hospitals and dispensaries so that the common people can get the proper benefit of the healthcare schemes of the government.  

Prof NK Gosain

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