Recast of existing public health schemes to get attention
The approach paper to the 12th five-year Plan (2012-13 to 2016-17) will focus on restructuring public health schemes to make these more effective, even as stakeholders today asked the Planning Commission to address the issue of shortage of manpower in this sector.
At a meeting of a working group constituted for the Plan, members also asked for massive expansion of medical education to improve primary health care. The working group comprises officials from the health ministry, representatives of business chambers and Planning Commission members.
Devi Shetty of Narayana Hrudayalaya said in his presentation that there was a shortage of one million doctors and the price of a seat in an MD course was Rs 5 crore. He said doctors trained through the expensive private education route would never be available for primary health care needs. Hence, the only way to make health care affordable was to create a massive education network, at the rate of 100 medical colleges every year for five years. This, he said, was possible by turning each of the 625 district hospitals into medical colleges.
A Commission official said the approach paper would pitch for recasting existing schemes to give better results, even as the health ministry demands raising of allocation for the sector from the current 1.1 per cent of gross domestic product to 2-2.5 per cent.
“The idea is not just to allocate more funds as is being demanded but to ensure that whatever funds are allocated are used in a more effective manner,” a senior official said.
The ministry of health is believed to be in favour of raising the allocation to the sector (excluding sanitation and portable water) to at least two per cent of GDP by the end of the 12th Plan, which starts from 2012-2013. A survey by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development says only seven countries in the world spend less money than India on public health. Also, the Department of Health Research is projecting an ideal expenditure of around Rs 9,000 crore during the 12th Plan period, it is learnt.
The Commission official said making schemes more targeted and cutting the overall number of such programmes would be a thrust area of the approach paper’s segment on health.
As reprted in: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/12th-plan-approach-paper-to-focushealth-reforms/440162/
The approach paper to the 12th five-year Plan (2012-13 to 2016-17) will focus on restructuring public health schemes to make these more effective, even as stakeholders today asked the Planning Commission to address the issue of shortage of manpower in this sector.
At a meeting of a working group constituted for the Plan, members also asked for massive expansion of medical education to improve primary health care. The working group comprises officials from the health ministry, representatives of business chambers and Planning Commission members.
Devi Shetty of Narayana Hrudayalaya said in his presentation that there was a shortage of one million doctors and the price of a seat in an MD course was Rs 5 crore. He said doctors trained through the expensive private education route would never be available for primary health care needs. Hence, the only way to make health care affordable was to create a massive education network, at the rate of 100 medical colleges every year for five years. This, he said, was possible by turning each of the 625 district hospitals into medical colleges.
A Commission official said the approach paper would pitch for recasting existing schemes to give better results, even as the health ministry demands raising of allocation for the sector from the current 1.1 per cent of gross domestic product to 2-2.5 per cent.
“The idea is not just to allocate more funds as is being demanded but to ensure that whatever funds are allocated are used in a more effective manner,” a senior official said.
The ministry of health is believed to be in favour of raising the allocation to the sector (excluding sanitation and portable water) to at least two per cent of GDP by the end of the 12th Plan, which starts from 2012-2013. A survey by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development says only seven countries in the world spend less money than India on public health. Also, the Department of Health Research is projecting an ideal expenditure of around Rs 9,000 crore during the 12th Plan period, it is learnt.
The Commission official said making schemes more targeted and cutting the overall number of such programmes would be a thrust area of the approach paper’s segment on health.
As reprted in: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/12th-plan-approach-paper-to-focushealth-reforms/440162/