Medics unwilling to serve in villages, rues Ashwath Narayan
BENGALURU: Higher Education and Skill Development Minister Dr CN Ashwath Narayan on Wednesday expressed hopelessness on the lack of doctors opting to serve in rural areas.The minister, speaking at the 10th edition of the Life Sciences and Healthcare Innovation Forum (LHIF) organised by National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), said that quality must be ensured in education, healthcare and government services. “During and post-Covid, we have seen how difficult and challenging it was to implement and ensure quality and affordable healthcare for all,” he said.
He also lamented the lack of government services in rural areas. “As people’s representatives, we feel very disappointed that we must address this inability to reach out to rural areas. We are spending more than Rs 10,000 crore on healthcare and medical education in Karnataka, and more than Rs 6,000 crore on government healthcare. Karnataka has no shortage of doctors and technicians but no one volunteers to go to rural areas,” he said.
He also lauded the efforts of doctors and healthcare professionals who live and work in rural areas, saying they need appreciation for improving the health of the area. The minister was speaking alongside NASSCOM president Debjani Ghosh, who said efforts must be made to improve digital technology and also digitise analog equipment and technology. “Healthcare plays an important role not just because of its economic value but the impact it can have on drug discovery and improving the quality of human lives. We have what it takes to lead the development of quality healthcare,” she said.
7 ENGG COLLEGES TO BE KITS
Minister Ashwath Narayan said a task force has been formed to upgrade seven engineering colleges in the state to Karnataka Institutes of Technology (KITs). He said Rs 95 crore has been allocated for the initiative, of which Rs 21 crore have been released and a detailed project report will be submitted within the next two months