Health care challenge

Kenneth Thorpe’s brilliant interview by Veer Arjun Singh (August 13) should be an eye-opener for private service providers in our health care system. The Centre can only do so much to tackle the gigantic task of putting in place an ecosystem that reaches every nook and corner of India.

Health care delivery is abysmally poor not only in the hinterland but also in cities. The problem is so humungous that the government has neither the funds nor the managerial capability to handle the same. Few “centres of excellence” set up by the government in metros are overcrowded and over-burdened leading to loss of efficiency and credibility. Smaller hospitals and primary health centres are just not manned and maintained. The private sector has to come forward, give up a bit of its lure for lucre, and the doctors must remember the Hippocratic oath and pitch in with the government in a “mission mode”.

Our industry’s vast resources — money and capabilities — and the vision of our business leaders are up to the challenge. Of course, the government will have to accept the advice of some of our visionary “health care leaders” who have proven their mettle by setting up great institutes by their own initiative. The government will also need to strictly enforce “mandatory rural service” for all doctors — somewhat on the lines of military service in some countries — before they pick up their hard-earned medical degrees.