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What is Health?

Our ability to avoid illness and injuries is referred to as health. Disease isn’t the only element that affects our health; there are other aspects as well. People can stay healthy by drinking clean water or living in a pollution-free environment.

Healthcare in India

Paradox of healthcare in India

Positive aspects Negative aspects
India boasts the world’s greatest number of medical colleges and is one of the top manufacturers of doctors.
Every year, more than 30,000 new doctors become eligible.		 People in rural areas must travel long distances to see a doctor, so more doctors are relocating to urban areas. In rural locations, the number of doctors per capita is significantly lower.
Over time, the number of healthcare facilities has increased dramatically. Only 2,717 government hospitals existed in India in 1950. The number increased to 23,583 in 2017. Low patient reduction: Every year, roughly five lakh people die of tuberculosis, a number that has remained virtually unchanged since independence. Every year, about two million cases of malaria are reported, and the number isn’t going down.
Medical tourism has great potential. Low availability of safe drinking water: waterborne infections account for 21% of all communicable diseases. For instance, diarrhoea, worms, hepatitis, and so on.
India is the world’s third-largest manufacturer of medications,
as well as a significant exporter.		 In India, half of all children are undernourished due to a lack of enough food.

Requirements to prevent and treat illnesses

  • Appropriate healthcare facilities to offer patients with the necessary care and services. For example, health clinics, hospitals, testing laboratories, ambulance services, blood banks, and so forth
  • A sufficient number of healthcare workers: We need health workers, nurses, certified doctors, and other health experts to advise, diagnose, and treat ailments in order to administer healthcare facilities
  • Medicines and medical equipment are required to treat patients.

Division of healthcare facilities

  • Public health services and
  • Private health facilities.

Public Health Services

  • It is a government-run network of health centres and hospitals that are linked together to cover both rural and urban areas and provide care for a wide range of issues, from common ailments to specialized treatments
  • There are health centres in the villages, where a nurse and a local health worker are normally present. They’ve been trained to cope with common ailments and work at the Primary Health Centre under the supervision of doctors (PHC). Many settlements in a rural area are served by such a centre
  • The District Hospital, which oversees all the district’s health centres, is located at the district level.

Need of Public Health Service

  • Constitutional mandate: It is the government’s principal responsibility to ensure the welfare of the people and to provide healthcare to all. Every person’s Right to Life must be protected by the government
  • The money that the public pays to the government as taxes is used to provide the resources needed to administer these services
  • Poor people’s access to treatment: It aims to deliver high-quality health-care services for free or at a reasonable cost.

Private Health Facilities

The government does not own or control them. Registered Medical Practitioners (RMPs) in rural regions, private clinics maintained by a significant number of doctors, and other private health facilities are available. Doctors, privately operated hospitals and nursing homes, private laboratories, and other medical services are plentiful in urban areas.

Healthcare and Equality: Is adequate healthcare available to all?

Issues faced by  Healthcare System in India:

  • Expensive Private sector: If governmental services do not improve in accordance with demand, the poor will be left with just one option: private services
  • In the private sector, wrong practices are encouraged: Even when low-cost options are available, they are not always used. Some doctors, for example, are accused of prescribing unnecessary medications and injections when a basic prescription would suffice
  • In fact, only about 20% of the population can afford all the medications they require during a medical emergency
  • According to a survey, 40% of persons who are sent to a hospital for an illness or injury must borrow money or sell part of their belongings to cover the costs
  • Patriarchal concerns: Women’s health is regarded as less significant than the health of male family members
  • Inadequate Health Centers: Many tribal territories have a limited number of health centres that aren’t functioning adequately

Way Forward

It is the government’s responsibility to offer high-quality healthcare to all citizens, particularly the poor and disadvantaged. Health is as much a function of people’s basic needs and social circumstances as it is of healthcare services. It is critical to work on both of these areas in order to improve our people’s health. And it is possible to achieve this. Consider the following scenario:

Kerala’s experience:

  • In 1996, the Kerala administration implemented several significant changes in the state
  • Panchayats received 40% of the total state budget
  • This aided the village in ensuring that correct planning for water, food, women’s development, and education was carried out
  • Improved Situation: This means that water supply schemes were examined, school and Anganwadi operations were ensured, and specific village issues were addressed. Health centres have also been upgraded. Health conditions improved as essential utilities increased.

Conclusion

The government is responsible for preventing and treating sickness, as well as providing adequate health facilities such as health centres, hospitals, testing labs, ambulance services, blood banks, and so on for all people. These services should be available to all patients, including those in the most distant areas. Government engagement in the health-care market is necessary to regulate the market, set pricing parameters, and distribute and finance limited resources. Finally, if the government did not intervene, the public costs of consumption would outweigh the private costs of production.