By Alee khan
Today, covid-19 infection in the country is rapidly catching the population. Today, India has the highest number of corona infected patients in the world. The way the invisible virus has created a furore in the last one month, it has exposed the poor health care of our country and its disastrousness. Today there is an atmosphere of chaos in the country. This is about Afra-Tafari health services. Today, in hospitals, someone is rushing to bed, someone is for oxygen. If someone is getting oxygen, then he is walking on his shoulder, because the hospitals are completely full. It is that the bodies are being lined up at the Shamsan Ghat, waiting for the cremation. Somewhere the situation has come to light that wood is being broken to burn the dead bodies. A large number of corpses have been seen in the river. A few days ago an incident came to light that police personnel resorted to petrol and tires to burn the corpse. In such a situation, it can be said that the situation in the country is not at all normal. Today, according to government statistics, more than four thousand deaths are happening every day. Exactly how much this figure is, nothing can be said about it.
Last year, Corona had knocked, but the covid-19 infection spread only in the cities and the rural environment was avoided. But this time it did not happen, this time the corona virus took a formidable form in urban areas as well as entered the rural population. The virus spread on the rural level exposed the health infrastructure. Sick health facilities and safe arrangements have opened the eyes of governments. Renowned claims of a strong health structure collapsed ahead of the sunami of Corona. According to statistics, the scope of the private sector in the health department has increased in the last few years. It has been claimed that people have moved towards private hospitals equipped with all the necessary facilities and modern equipment, but Corona has crossed the boundaries of private hospitals. Having created a furore. In such a situation, government and private health departmental services collapsed.
Today, how the structure of health services in the world is determined by looking at the population and needs. Today, many countries of the world have excellent health infrastructure. The main reason for having a strong health infrastructure is to spend 2 to 5 percent of its GDP on health services. Health services are staggering in India today, in such a situation that it is necessary that at least 2 to 5 per cent of the GDP should be spent on health services. Today, the private health sector plays a very important role in our country. Most of the health expenses here are borne by patients and their families from their pockets rather than from insurance. This results in very unusual expenditure on health expenses. ‌This results in the lower and middle class living a life without the benefit of health services, consequently putting lives at risk. In such a situation, it is also necessary to make changes in this system. Because the person at the back of the line can also get health benefits.
According to the National Family Health Survey, the private medical sector is the primary source of health care for 70 per cent of the families living in urban areas and 63 per cent of the families living in rural areas. There are considerable differences in public and private health care between different states. Dependence on the private health sector has increased for several reasons, one of the main reasons being the poor quality of care in the public sector. In such a situation, the dependence of large population is forced on private hospitals. ‌Private hospitals do not have facilities like insurance. It has been observed that private hospitals collect arbitrary money. In such a situation, the improvement in the quality of government hospitals has become very important. Changes in the infrastructure of government hospitals are absolutely necessary.
Statistics show that only 2% of the doctors’ population lives in rural areas, where 68% of India’s population lives. There is a dire need for improvement in these figures. This time, due to the spread of Corona virus in the villages, the situation got out of control. The main reason behind this is also the lack of organized health facilities. Data from the National Family Health Survey showed that child health services available to India’s urban population are not in very good condition. There is also room for improvement in this.
Today, Corona has wreaked havoc across the country. Taking a lesson from the circumstances arising out of the covid-19 pandemic, there is a need to plan for future infrastructure. Today, not a single state has been successful in controlling the covid-19 epidemic. Wherever corona infection has come under control, lockdown and detainees have been resorted to. In such a situation, not only the Center but also the governments of the states should seriously consider what effective measures can be taken to deal with the epidemic in the future. ‌We have no shortage of technical education today, only the need is that health as soon as possible Digitization of the structure should be done. There has always been a voice that special provisions should be made for the strengthening of health services. Now the time has come, where the infrastructure of government hospitals should be improved, for this the expenditure on health will have to be increased in the total expenditure of GDP. Today, there is no adequate availability of doctors in rural areas. In such a situation, there should be deployment of physician and medical staff as per the requirement. Along with this, medical education should also be promoted. For this, the number of medical colleges needs to be increased. The biggest misfortune of our country is that there is a vigilance after disaster or epidemic. If efforts are made in time, the country can be saved from great damage.
(Author is Jaisalmer based freelance writer, columnist and commentator. The views expressed are personal opinion of the author. He can be reached at Aleekhanbhaiya@gmail.com)