Outbreak of encephalitis and death of children puts a question mark on our entire health care system. The situation, the chaos, the unpreparedness we are witnessing in Muzaffarpur is not an isolated case. If this type of outbreak happens the situation would be same anywhere in India. In 2010 dengue cases reached to an unprecedented number in Delhi. There were no facility of getting platelets from blood to most of the private hospitals. There were no bed availability in hospitals be it government or private. Two three patients were sharing beds. In August-September 2017, 24 newborns died in district hospital Vidisha, 36 died in government hospital in shahdol, both in M. P. In August 2017, 49 infants died in Farrukhabad, UP. During January to August 90 children died in district hospital Kolar, Karnatka. Remember, death of children in BRD medical college, Gorakhpur in 2017.
Why this happens? Who are the real culprits? What about vision 2020?? What went wrong or what is going wrong? Where we are lacking?
India has doctor population ratio of 0.62:1000 (as told by the then MoS (Health), Anupriya Patel in LS on 21 July, 2017), while WHO prescribes ratio of 1:1000. We have 8 lakhs (apprx.) actively practicing doctors. We need 13.3 lakhs doctors to achieve WHO prescription/ recommendation. Currently in India, there is 67,218 MBBS seats. Seats for PG (MS/MD) are inadequate (only 31,415) to cater our needs. Huge gap between demand and supply. But only increase in number of doctors is not the panacea, quality of medical education and training also needs improvement specially in privately managed colleges. Some state of art Institute of virology are also needed in epidemic prone areas. In case of encephalitis for twenty years only symptoms are being treated. The real cause of this disease are still debatable. These Institutes can research this aspect.
Primary health centers have no doctor at all or if they have any, he/she is busy in private practice. They are looting the poor public. Presence of doctors at primary health centers must be ensured and these centers should work for prevention by spreading awareness in public.
Doctors of government hospitals are running their own clinics (specially in Bihar, U. P.). They don't treat in hospitals and discourage the patients to go to government hospitals. Instead they call them at their clinics.
We talk a lot about meagre budget allocation for health care but, we should also see wheather the funds are being utilized properly. Most of the times institutes/hospitals don't even utilize their allocated budgetary funds. Ofcourse we need more doctors, institutes, hospitals but, first utilisation of existing infrastructure to its full potential must be ensured.
~by Rashmi Prabha
~by Rashmi Prabha
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