Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Dec 30: Union Health Minister, J.P.Nadda has said that Government is planning to upgrade district hospitals across the country, particularly in those districts which do not have a medical college.
He was addressing the Annual National Conference of Indian Medical Association (IMA) here as Chief Guest.
Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space was special guest on the occasion. Also present, among others, were Union Minister of State Dr Mahesh Sharma, BJP National General Secretary Dr Anil Jain, outgoing IMA National President Dr Vinay Agarwal, incoming IMA National President Dr S.S.Agarwal and Secretary General IMA Dr K.K.Agarwal.
J.P.Nadda emphasised the need for making health services uniform across the country. He observed that the status of health services is better in Southern and Western parts of the country as compared to Northeast and East, and therefore there is a need to bring these areas also at par with other areas.
Referring to shortage of doctors in rural areas, Nadda suggested that a way out has to be found to overcome this anomaly through a via media which is acceptable to all including the medical professionals themselves. He also mooted the idea of setting up a ministerial committee of the Health Ministry with representatives of medical professionals and medical bodies like Indian Medical Association
Nadda also emphasised the need to develop an integrated coordinated holistic approach and give equal priority to preventive aspects of disease besides the clinical aspects.
Dr Jitendra Singh, in his address, referred to shift in the disease spectrum over the last quarter of a century wherein non-communicable diseases like Diabetes and high blood pressure had replaced the communicable diseases like tuberculosis which were more prevalent in the earlier years. The added challenge, he said, is that these communicable and metabolic diseases have started afflicting younger age groups with a risk of adversely affecting the youth energy and youth potential of the nation. Therefore, he said, both the health policy makers as well as the health professionals would have to join together to develop a revised strategy to deal with the contemporary scenario.
Referring to the emergence of private health sector in a big way, Dr Jitendra Singh hinted at the imbalance caused due to the concentration of corporate health services in urban and semi-urban areas whereas large parts of rural areas still remained deprived of even minimal health care. Healthy synergism between private and public health care services was imperative for the health of the nation, he added.
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