It has become common in recent times to spot news articles regarding the death caused by medical negligence. But, often, we also happen to see articles praising the progress of the medical fraternity and how foreigners land up in India for treatment due to the expertise of Indian doctors. It makes us wonder about the status of India’s healthcare system.
Many of us just read the articles and forget about them in no time. Have you ever actually wondered how healthy our healthcare system is? After all, we are trusting our lives in the hands of the healthcare professionals. These days we are running up to hospitals even if the cold refuses to go for a week. Thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic. It has not just inculcated health consciousness in our mind but also increased the fear of living. Don’t you think it is high time we actually put efforts into understanding our healthcare system and analysing its pros and cons?
Understanding India’s healthcare system
Just like its people, the healthcare system of India is also diverse and complex. Both the public and private sectors have come together to cater to the medical needs of about 1.4 billion people. The union and the state governments run primary, secondary and tertiary care facilities.
While primary care centres remain the first point of contact for people, secondary care centres like district hospitals, focus on acute and specialist services. Tertiary centres like medical college hospitals provide advanced medical services, like super-specialty services, to people. As far as the private sector is considered, India has clinics, nursing homes, super-specialty and corporate hospitals. While the government-run hospitals provide treatment to patients at no or minimal costs, private hospitals charge a sum that is set by the government for the treatment.
According to reports, India has about 2 lakh public health facilities. It has 767 district hospitals, 1,275 sub-district hospitals, 6,064 community health centres, 31,053 primary health centres and 1.61 lakh sub-health centres.
Transformation of healthcare system
Though it is true that the healthcare system needs improvement, it is also important to mention that the system has undergone a huge and significant transformation over a period of time.
One of the main reasons for the transformation is continuous investment in the field. It in turn has paved the way for innovative healthcare delivery models, modernisation of medical equipment and low-cost medical devices, among others. The continuous monitoring system has been ensuring patient safety, cost control and promoting high-quality care. These are the main reasons that sow hope in experts and the public to remain optimistic about the future of India’s healthcare system.
Further, the government has also been implementing multiple programmes both to improve the quality of the healthcare system and to provide healthcare access to the people in marginalised and remote locations. Insurance coverage has been provided under various schemes to ensure people avail of quality treatment. The government has also been taking steps to improve community participation and engagement in decision-making and service delivery.
Not just that, India has also been emerging as one of the leading destinations for medical tourism. It is mainly due to comparatively low medical procedure costs, expertise and usage of advanced technology.
Challenges faced by India’s healthcare system
A recent study by the Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) revealed that only 20% of the assessed facilities have met the required benchmarks for infrastructure, human resources, drugs, equipment and diagnostics. It has assessed 40,451 facilities, of which only 8,089 have met the required benchmark.
It also said that about 17,190 facilities, i.e., about 50% of them, do not meet even the basic requirements. This means that there is a huge shortfall in meeting the basic healthcare standards at government-run hospitals and healthcare centres across the country.
The findings have underscored the necessity to look at the challenges faced by the healthcare system of the country closely. It in turn will help us understand and address it promptly. Some of the major challenges are listed below.
Inadequate bedding facilities at hospitals
The Indian government has laid down a set of rules and regulations in the Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) to ensure quality in its healthcare system. As per which, primary healthcare centres should have at least six indoor or observation beds to cover 20,000 to 30,000 population, community health centres should have 30 beds to cover 80,000 to 1.20 lakh population, sub-district hospitals should have 31-100 beds to cover 1 lakh to 5 lakh population, and district hospitals should have 101-500 beds to cover 30 lakh population.
But according to the reply given by the minister of states for health department, Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar, at Lok Sabha in 2022, India has only one bed for the 1844 population in 2018. It means that 1000 people had 0.54 beds. However, the number seems to have improved marginally in recent years. According to the national health profile 2021, the country has about 8.25 lakh beds, i.e., 0.6 beds per 1000 population.
Insufficient public healthcare funding
As we all know, India is one of the largest private healthcare systems in the world. Only close to 20% of all the healthcare services come under the purview of public funding. Even then, the fund allocated by the government continued to remain insufficient. According to government data, the country had spent about 1.2% of its GDP on the healthcare system in the financial year 2014.
In the last decade, the percentage has gradually increased, and in the financial year 2023, it has spent about 2.6% of its GDP on the healthcare system. Still, the funding remains insufficient. Many government facilities suffer from shortages of medical supplies, staff and facilities. This shortage often results in compromised quality and limited accessibility. Because most of its population is dependent on the public healthcare system.
Infrastructure disparities
One of the major challenges faced by the country is its evident infrastructure disparities in the healthcare system. For it impacts the quality of care, accessibility and effectiveness of healthcare services. One of the reasons behind the disparity is the existing urban-rural divide in the country.
Cities and bigger towns have advanced healthcare facilities like medical college hospitals and multi-specialty hospitals that focus on advanced medicine and have highly trained specialists. In contrast, rural areas just have government healthcare centres that often lack essential medicines, doctors and equipment. Most of the rural areas in the country rely only on sub-centres and primary health care centres.
Going by the facts, the Indian healthcare system is at a critical juncture despite making evident progress. In recent times, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become essential for the government to work on eliminating inequalities both in terms of access and quality. The path forward for the sector involves investing in healthcare infrastructure, enhancing public health initiatives and improving access to care in rural areas. A balance should be struck to ensure quality healthcare is accessible for all without any discrimination.
Healthcare efforts of Smile Foundation
Smile Foundation is committed to bridging the gaps in India’s healthcare system through our comprehensive healthcare initiatives, especially in underserved rural and urban areas. Recognising the disparities in healthcare access and quality, Smile Foundation actively works to improve medical care for communities that need it the most.
Our mobile healthcare initiative with hundreds of different and valuable corporate partners, Smile on Wheels brings primary healthcare services directly to the doorstep of remote communities. By providing free consultations, diagnostic services and medications, this initiative ensures that healthcare reaches those who lack access to basic medical facilities. The program also emphasises health awareness and education, teaching communities about preventive care to reduce the burden of disease.
In addition to general healthcare, our recently concluded Nutrition Enhancement Programme with PepsiCo Foundation was a targeted approach to combat malnutrition among children and women, especially in marginalised communities. Understanding that a healthy start in life is crucial for children’s physical and cognitive development, the programme focused on providing balanced meals, fortified supplements and essential nutrients to children and expecting mothers.
Healthy hoga India, tabhi toh badhega India
By collaborating with local schools and communities, the programme ensured that nutritious meals are accessible to those in need, addressing immediate hunger while also promoting long-term health and well-being. This initiative is vital in a country where malnutrition continues to be a significant public health challenge, particularly in rural and underserved urban areas.
Smile Foundation’s efforts are both about providing immediate healthcare solutions and also creating sustainable changes. Through capacity-building workshops, training sessions for local health workers and health awareness drives, we empower communities to take charge of their health. By addressing both immediate healthcare needs and long-term health determinants like nutrition and education, Smile Foundation plays an important role in strengthening the Indian healthcare system from the grassroots level. Our work reflects a commitment to ensuring that everyone, regardless of their socio-economic status, has access to the health services they need to lead healthy and productive lives.