Revamp government hospitals, cap treatment cost

How can Ludhiana improve its healthcare and medical facilities?

Healthcare facilities need to be improved both on macro and micro levels. For instance, the healthcare industry could dramatically improve healthcare quality by instituting greater transparency and requiring practitioners to use patient-centered facilities. Physicians can help patients by following protocol to keep them safe from infection, following up regularly and connecting patients to better resources. Primary care providers are best positioned to ensure the quality of care at the source. They can act as the hub for patient-centered care. Primary care physicians tend to be more connected to their patients and better able to understand patients’ needs.

Pooja Goswami

---

City needs more hospitals

Lack of proper medical facilities is a big problem for city residents. In Ludhiana, there is a dire need to build more civil hospitals equipped with latest facilities. More ambulances are required. In each area there must be a clinic for preliminary investigation or for first-aid treatment. In developed countries, every citizen is provided with adequate medical facilities. In our country too, such facilities should be provided to everyone. Availability of requisite number of ventilators should be made mandatory in every hospital.

Farzana khan

---

Local leaders should come forward

Requisite number of beds, machines and proper facilities should be arranged to tackle the rush of patients. With more funding, the government can provide free treatment to the poor through the public health system. In addition to free treatment, the government can provide health insurance to the poor so that they can avail treatment in private hospitals as well. Local leaders should make a list of poor and needy people who need free treatment.

Karanpreet kaur

---

Improve patient care

Improving patient care has become a priority for all of us. We all know that this time is a difficult time for everyone. The quality of patient care is mainly determined by the quality of infrastructure, training, and competence of staff. We should ensure such facilities are provided in the city.

Shivani Kumari

---

Provide testing at affordable rates

Amid the Covid-19 crisis, the healthcare facilities have become one of the most rapidly expanding sectors. Following key points can be very essential and useful for improving healthcare facilities at city level. First of all, the government and NGO's should start working on campaigns for raising awareness among people on following precautions such as sanitising hands, maintaining social distancing etc. Secondly, city authority should keep a tab on the treatment cost charged by private hospitals. Thirdly, the local authority should provide testing of Covid-19 at affordable rates.

Harleen Kaur

---

Provide PPE kits, sanitisers to healthcare workers

The administration should provide PPE kits, alcohol-based hand sanitisers to healthcare workers in government hospitals. Proper sanitisation of hospitals should be done regularly. Inspection by officials is must for checking the working of hospitals. Government hospitals should be provided with adequate funds so that they can give proper treatment to patients. Hospitals and Covid care centres should provide correct report to patients so that they can rely upon them. Medicine supply chain management should be regulated efficiently.

Miyush Trehan

---

Cooperation needed to win fight against virus

The situation has turned to worse as there are very less facilities at government hospitals. The cost of treatment in private hospitals is very expensive and out of reach of the normal public. Secondly, the number of ventilators and the beds are far less than as compared to infected patients. Also, the trust of the people on testing results is also diminishing. To provide remedial facilities immediate steps are needed to be made both individually and collectively. Good relations are needed to be maintained between different levels of government so that there is smooth functioning of the transfer of funds. NGOs and citizens should also come up to contribute.

Harkirat Singh Shankar

---

Raise awareness on govt schemes among the needy

The first step to improve healthcare facilities is to educate the poor as they are not aware of the medical schemes available exclusively to them. Besides making effective policies, the government must ensure its effective implementation. Generally, people are not even aware of such policies; they are exploited by the authorities in the process of receiving affordable healthcare facilities. To put an end to such malpractices, NGOs and state governments must hold regular seminars to raise awareness. The second step is to make treatment costs affordable for everyone. More charitable hospitals should also be opened for them.

Blessnoor Kaur

---

Make healthcare services affordable

Available healthcare facilities in the city are inadequate to cope up with the rush of patients. There is one civil hospital which lacks modern equipment and facilities. Other big hospitals namely Christian Medical College and Hospital and Dayanand Medical College and Hospital cannot meet the healthcare and medical needs of the big population. The local health authorities should ensure that hospitals can be availed of by the poor people also. The health authorities need to fix the rates of different treatments in the private hospitals.

Gautam Dev

---

Improve funding, devise new strategies

To strengthen healthcare delivery and improve business prospects, policy makers, healthcare providers, business leaders, technology providers and pharma companies need to devise innovative strategies. People should also come forward to team up with independent transportation networks for older and visually-impaired people. Steps should be taken for use of more mobile clinics that provide primary care services, preventive care services, or dental care services from a van, truck, or bus equipped with all of the necessary technology to provide clinical services in underserved areas, both rural and urban. There is a need to spread mass awareness to enhance the low penetration of health insurance.

RAVI CHANDER GARG

---

Form surveillance teams

Due to the pandemic, there is a lot of pressure upon the healthcare and medical facilities in the city. So, at this time there is a need to keep a proper check upon the functioning of the hospitals, especially private ones. Surveillance teams should be formed for regular check of the hospitals. The hospital authorities should themselves be responsible for providing proper healthcare and medical facilities. Diversion of patients to other districts where good hospitals are there is the need of the hour to reduce the case load on local hospitals.

Bir Devinder Singh Bedi

---

Take help of local bodies

State government with the help of local bodies must prepare a plan for the city to improve medical facilities. For this purpose, there must be a provision of mohalla clinics as implemented in New Delhi. Councillors must be deputed to look after each and every household on daily or weekly basis. There must be an ambulance which must be parked at some prime location so that at the time of emergency patient may be able to avail this facility. There must be free medical camp at mohalla level. Government must keep an eye watch on private hospitals so that these hospitals may not be able to charge extraordinary fees from patients.

Dr Mohd Saleem

---

Spend funds judiciously

It is the prime duty of the government to provide sufficient resources to its country for its better growth and development. The main problem arises when the funds garner from different resources are not being utilised in the same manner as it requires. Financial resources should be utilised in optimum manner by keeping regular check on unscrupulous activities.

Suneet Kaurscale up testing, have more mobile clinics Recently, Ludhiana has become a major hotspot with a high mortality rate and the highest positive cases. The local administration and the state government should become extra cautious about the city as it gets patients from surrounding areas too. More and more testing and detection should be the motto as only this can break the chain and check the spread. It is high time the admin should increase the number of beds. Addition of corona testing mobile clinic and ambulance will really prove to be a boon for the residents. More such vans should be added to the fleet.

Dr Sunil Chopra

---

Encourage public-private partnership

The government should try to improve the functioning of civil hospitals. If it alone can't improve the conditions of healthcare facilities, then it should encourage private players to enter the field. Public-private partnerships must be encouraged if there is a lack of investment. The government should introduce various types of health insurance schemes so that the best medical facilities can be provided to all. Infrastructural facilities of civil hospitals should be modified and the latest technology must be used. The number of public hospitals should also be increased to cater to the needs of the rising population.

Ritu Priya

---

OPEN HOUSE COMMENT

Tap alternative systems of medicine

Minna Zutshi

There is a pressing need to tap alternative systems of medicine. This will help ease the burden on hospitals. The severe cases require hospitalisation. But the less severe cases can be managed without any hospitalisation. What is required is a proper planning of protocols and the strict implementation and monitoring of all the steps to break the transmission chain. Ludhiana is one of the 15 high-Covid load districts of the country. The Centre has clearly instructed the states to break the transmission chain. Home quarantine needs to be monitored. Anyone breaking the rules of home quarantine should be dealt with strictly. There is a need for all agencies to work in tandem so that the transmission chain is broken.

To facilitate the patients who have been isolated in the homes due to covid-19 pandemic, the district administration and We Do Not Accept Money or Things have made a website www.ekzaria.com that was launched recently.

OPEN HOUSE QUESTION

How should the police and the administration deal with those who throw all precautionary measures to the winds and violate Covid-19 rules and, in the process, expose themselves and others to the pandemic? [email protected]