New Delhi, January 31: Healthwire welcomes the new year by bringing a unique series to its readers voices of leading doctors, renowned professionals and policy makers hailing from top healthcare, research and development, financial and pharmaceutical industries who would float their ideas, suggestions and recommendations over the areas in healthcare sector that should be covered or addressed in the upcoming Union Health Budget 2020-21.
Dr. Mohsin Wali
Speaking to Healthwire, Dr. Mohsin Wali, Leading Cardiologist, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Personal Physician to the President of India mentioned his wishlist for the upcoming Union Health Budget in detail.
The subjects of his prime focus was on cheap medical devices, revamping primary healthcare centres, emergency medicines, violence on doctors, maternal and child health and elderly care.
Dr. Wali’s Wishlist
It is time to talk about patients. Recently, the government has done a lot for Indian patients and also in the area of medical tourism. We still provide the beast treatment to our medical tourism patients at a very competitive price.
Medical Devices
Every year something has to be done. Government has done quite a drastic reduction in the cost of stents but there are some other devices like heart valves and some less talked devices like cardioverters, implantable cardioverters and defibilators which are quite expensive range between Rs. 10-12 lacs.
So, the government has to take care of it and fix the responsibility for some department to reduce the price for the patient. Then there are prosthesis, brain stents and other devices which are also expensive, so overall, whatever appliances are in use, like eye lenses are very cheap in India and we have lots of patients who need them.
Ayushman Bharat
The other thing is that the Ayushman Bharat Yojna, PM-JAY which is developed by our Prime Minister Narendra Modi and introduced in a bigger way across the country, has still not being accepted by many states which have not accepted it so they should be made to realize the importance and they should accept it.
Through this scheme, more coverage to the poor beneficiary should be given and more hospitals should be registered that’s my suggestion.
We are already doing the good work in this direction and lots and lots of people getting benefitted from this scheme.
Primary Healthcare
Apart from that, the government has come forward with a very sound health policy and in this policy the stress was given on the primary health care. Pratt healthcare is a concern of every citizen and it is cheaper. If it’s redistributed at the periphery then the cost cutting is automatically done. The already existing dispensaries which are run by the central government in many districts, headquarters and cities are to be revamped. New wellness centres are being reopened and they should be further developed. The practicle problem with these centres is the staff, so new staff needs to be recruited in both paramedical and medical sectors.
The doctors should be going to the villages and that’s also very important because my India lives in villages. Doctors should go and willingly work there. There should be basic infrastructure and facilities for the doctors and their families to live because this is the common pretext on which doctors are not very much willing to rural areas and that’s a great difficulty.
Apart from the development of primary health care centre, there is also a need for immediate emergency care. We are lacking behind in emergency medicines so more seats in medical colleges for emergency medicines should be opened and both at graduate and post-graduate level they should be taught. Also, trauma medicine should be covered in this because accidents are still major cause of death in India.
Maternity & Child Health
Then comes maternal and child health. Most of our existing hospitals don’t have neo-natal ICUs which is the cause of death of a lot of children. We recently saw how infants died in Kota. The reason behind it is that the ICU management for the infants is adequate.
So more neo-natal ICUs should be opened and and more beds ICUs also should be opened so that more patients of trauma, head injury, strokes, heart attacks could be accomodated and treated there.
Vaccination Programs
Apart from this, we have effective vaccination program. When Mr. JP Nadda was health minister, he introduced ‘Indradhanush’ program and it is working very well. Out polio program is working very well and it is internationally acclaimed. So, the outreach of these programmes has to be increased.
Bill to Protect Doctors
Then other issues concerning doctors is that there was Bill introduced by our Honourable Health Minister Dr. Harshvardhan for assault on doctors to be made an unbailable and punishable crime. That Bill needs to be passed in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The government should protect the interest of the doctors who are serving.
Tackling Pollution
Most importantly, it is required that the introduction of all these schemes reach the masses. We have pollution as a great problem so pollution reduction measures should be effectively implemented with a strong political will because we pay so much money after people suffer due to the hazards of the pollution.
Elderly Care System
Our elderly also need under-one-roof care so there should be schemes and introduction of geriatric medicine in medical colleges as a teaching subject and also a department of geriatric medicine in which a patient goes and receive care for prostate, stomach, brain, neurological conditions, heart conditions, liver and urinary conditions and whatever he suffers from old age.
So with kind of approach, we can have another step marching forward in the medical field and good for the nation. As I said that medical tourism is already increasing in India at competitive price so we have to probably open some centres abroad that we can make them as catchment areas.
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