Wake-up call for public healthcare
Never before in the post-liberalisation era have so many people who have had the privilege of flying in an aircraft forced to not just visit, but stay put in government healthcare facilities. If privileged Indians, who can afford corporate healthcare, are finally waking up to the pains of the common man, it is due to Covid-19. Till date, the shortcomings in public healthcare were not a news of great interest to the privileged, for only the poor were affected. The acute shortage of infrastructure and lack of hygiene in government hospitals are rarely discussed beyond newspaper columns.
That seems to be changing. Social media is now filled with pictures of the poor state of government hospitals. Many states have reported at least one case of a person breaking out of or trying to avoid quarantine in those hospitals, raising fears of community transmission. Private hospitals are now being roped into the fight against the coronavirus. While the pricing and cost of treatment will be fixed by the government, access for those relying on the government’s free health insurance vis-a-vis corporate policyholders is also a concern.
Covid-19 is a wake-up call. The public healthcare system in India needs serious fixing. It is lacking severely in infrastructure, manpower and experience. India’s health expenditure is not even 2% of its GDP, and most of that is spent on health insurance. It’s time to invest substantially in government hospitals and primary health centres to deal with circumstances such as these. Consider the damage an outbreak of this nature can do in rural areas, where PHCs are ill-equipped to even deal with childbirths. The nation clapping its hands in a show of solidarity with our foot soldiers of public healthcare is a great start. But much more is needed. We can begin by strengthening infrastructure for basic hygiene at state-run healthcare facilities.