merisarkar news service
New Delhi, November 03, 2009
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh today said India needs structural reforms in the healthcare sector to improve delivery of services at the grassroots level and help the underprivileged access the facilities.
He said, though India has made substantial progress in health determinants over the past decades, but it is much less than the capacity.
He said, it also does not compare well with what a number of other countries, particularly in South East Asia, have achieved. The Prime Minister was addressing the 30th convocation ceremony of Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh.
Dr Singh said, there is a need to recognise that a hospital-centered approach to healthcare has proved to be excessively costly even in the advanced countries. He added that a more balanced approach will be to lay due emphasis on preventive health care.
He said, at present the country is spending one per cent of GDP on health and the goal is to increase it to 2 to 3 per cent. The Prime Minister also pointed out about the acute shortage of human resources at various levels, including in the number of specialists, doctors, nurses and paramedics.
While congratulating those who were awarded degrees and medals at the convocation, he reminded them that society expects from the professional men and women to go much beyond the pursuit of their professional careers.
He also told them to always keep the well-being of the common man in mind. Dr Singh said the mission of PGI will remain incomplete unless the interest of common man is addressed effectively.
