Vidur National Education Trust of India
HEALTH SERVICES
Physical reach is one of the basic determinants of access, defined as “ the ability to enter a healthcare facility within 5 km from the place of residence or work”[13] Using this definition, a study in India in 2012 found that in rural areas, only 37% of people were able to access IP facilities within a 5 km distance, and 68% were able to access out-patient facilities[14] Krishna and Ananthapur, in their 2012 paper, postulate that in general, the more rustic (rural) one's existence – the further one lives from towns – the greater are the odds of disease, malnourishment, weakness, and premature death.[15]
Even if a healthcare facility is physically accessible, what is the quality of care that it offers? Is that care continuously available? While the National (Rural) Health Mission has done much to improve the infrastructure in the Indian Government healthcare system, a 2012 study of six states in India revealed that many of the primary health centers (PHCs) lacked basic infrastructural facilities such as beds, wards, toilets, drinking water facility, clean labor rooms for delivery, and regular electricity.[14]
As thinkers in the disciplines of community medicine and public health, we must encourage discussion on the determinants of access to healthcare. We should identify and analyze possible barriers to access in the financial, geographic, social, and system-related domains, and do our best to get our students and peers thinking about the problem of access to good quality healthcare.
Absence or the humanpower crisis in healthcare: Any discussion on healthcare delivery should include arguably the most central of the characters involved – the human workforce. Do we have adequate numbers of personnel, are they appropriately trained, are they equitably deployed and is their morale in delivering the service reasonably high?
A 2011 study estimated that India has roughly 20 health workers per 10,000 population, with allopathic doctors comprising 31% of the workforce, nurses and midwives 30%, pharmacists 11%, AYUSH practitioners 9%, and others 9%.[16] This workforce is not distributed optimally, with most preferring to work in areas where infrastructure and facilities for family life and growth are higher. In general, the poorer areas of Northern and Central India have lower densities of health workers compared to the Southern states.[17]
While the private sector accounts for most of the health expenditures in the country, the state-run health sector still is the only option for much of the rural and peri-urban areas of the country. The lack of a qualified person at the point of delivery when a person has traveled a fair distance to reach is a big discouragement to the health-seeking behavior of the population. According to the rural health statistics of the Government of India (2015), about 10.4% of the sanctioned posts of auxiliary nurse midwives are vacant, which rises to 40.7% of the posts of male health workers. Twenty-seven percentage of doctor posts at PHCs were vacant, which is more than a quarter of the sanctioned posts.[18]
Even if a healthcare facility is physically accessible, what is the quality of care that it offers? Is that care continuously available? While the National (Rural) Health Mission has done much to improve the infrastructure in the Indian Government healthcare system, a 2012 study of six states in India revealed that many of the primary health centers (PHCs) lacked basic infrastructural facilities such as beds, wards, toilets, drinking water facility, clean labor rooms for delivery, and regular electricity.[14]
As thinkers in the disciplines of community medicine and public health, we must encourage discussion on the determinants of access to healthcare. We should identify and analyze possible barriers to access in the financial, geographic, social, and system-related domains, and do our best to get our students and peers thinking about the problem of access to good quality healthcare.
Absence or the humanpower crisis in healthcare: Any discussion on healthcare delivery should include arguably the most central of the characters involved – the human workforce. Do we have adequate numbers of personnel, are they appropriately trained, are they equitably deployed and is their morale in delivering the service reasonably high?
A 2011 study estimated that India has roughly 20 health workers per 10,000 population, with allopathic doctors comprising 31% of the workforce, nurses and midwives 30%, pharmacists 11%, AYUSH practitioners 9%, and others 9%.[16] This workforce is not distributed optimally, with most preferring to work in areas where infrastructure and facilities for family life and growth are higher. In general, the poorer areas of Northern and Central India have lower densities of health workers compared to the Southern states.[17]
While the private sector accounts for most of the health expenditures in the country, the state-run health sector still is the only option for much of the rural and peri-urban areas of the country. The lack of a qualified person at the point of delivery when a person has traveled a fair distance to reach is a big discouragement to the health-seeking behavior of the population. According to the rural health statistics of the Government of India (2015), about 10.4% of the sanctioned posts of auxiliary nurse midwives are vacant, which rises to 40.7% of the posts of male health workers. Twenty-seven percentage of doctor posts at PHCs were vacant, which is more than a quarter of the sanctioned posts.[18]
Considering that the private sector is the major player in healthcare service delivery, there have been many programs aiming to harness private expertise to provide public healthcare services. The latest is the new nationwide scheme proposed which accredits private providers to deliver services reimbursable by the Government. In an ideal world, this should result in the improvement of coverage levels, but does it represent a transfer of responsibility and an acknowledgment of the deficiencies of the public health system?
As trainers and educators in public health, how are we equipping our trainees to deliver a health service in the manner required, at the place where it is needed and at the time when it is essential? It is time for a policy on health human power to be articulated, which must outline measures to ensure that the last Indian is taken care of by a sensitive, trained, and competent healthcare worker.
OUR ROLE-:
1) To provide free health check-ups to poor people of the society
2) To assist people in legal guidance of complain against the public hospital for not performing duty and irresponsibility.
3) To build hospitals and Medical colleges for welfare of people to promote the study of medical science in india at low rate, and less costlier treatment for everyone
4) To provide free medical advice, to Pregnant Women and disabled or disaster-affected people
5) To conduct awareness program to educate people about the precaution and prevention of several diseases such as dengue, malaria etc.
6) To distribute free foods and meals to poor section of the society especially to pregnant women and children, to prevent malnutrition and hunger.
7) To contribute in charity following the dharma and dedicate our engagement in helping others in any step or form.
Very good initiative
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