Today I am talking about the Indian healthcare system and where we lack and how we can improve our health system so we can stand in front of the developed countries.
Contents
Nation Shook
First, let’s start with the biggest story of India. When the whole nation was in shook , thousands of doctors were on strike all over the country—DELHI, PUNE, KOLKATA—everywhere it was the same story: doctors had stopped work.
They were demanding justice for one of their own doctors, a young doctor who was raped and murdered in Kolkata.
She was 31 years old; she was a second-year student at RG Kar Medical College, and her story will make your blood boil.
Incident Occour
On Thursday 8th August, 2024, she was on duty around 2:00 am In the morning she finished her food, and then she wanted to take some rest.
At that time there was no on-call room in the medical college, so she went to the seminar room, and here she was brutally raped and murdered by a civic volunteer.
She had injuries all over her body; even her eyes and mouth were bleeding, and her neckbone was broken. Don’t forget, this all happened inside a medical college.
Investigation
The police have caught the killer; the college principal was transferred to another campus but not dismissed.
However, the controversy is not over yet as it highlights another serious issue—the flaws in our poor medical system, which is why doctors are protesting.
They want answers in this case, but they also want major reforms in the medical system.
Medical Infrastructure
This is a country of 1.4 billion people, so health is not just another welfare issue; it is a strategic priority for us. Look at the state of our medical infrastructure, which is underfunded and backward, as the data says.
- India has 7.3 doctors per 1000 people
- Pakistan has 10.8 per 1000
- China has 24 per 1000
- USA has 35 per 1000
While the gap is huge, now the government is trying to correct it.
In the last 10 years, the number of medical colleges has increased by 82%, and the number of MBBS seats has increased by 112%. The numbers are increasing, but this alone is not enough.
How do I become a doctor? A Tough Journey
The journey from being a student to becoming a doctor is a very tough one; you start with the NEET entrance exam.
Last year, the 2024 exam was in controversy because of the leaked papers. A controversial case was filed in the Supreme Court.
But suppose you clear the exam, then you get admission in a medical college. In a government college, you don’t have to spend much, but private colleges charge a lot for a four and a half-year course, around 1 crore rupees, and it is a rigorous course.
If we look at the data from 2018 to 2023, more than 150 MBBS students dropped out; more than 1100 PG students also dropped out, along with 12,122 students who committed suicide.
The reasons are mostly the same across all the colleges: academic pressure and mental health challenges.
If you feel that the course is not worth it for you, so you want to leave it, then most states make you sign contracts or bonds; they come in two basic forms: a seat-leaving bond and a service bond.
Colleges impose a fine if you drop your course.This is considered a waste of medical resources. Guess how much the fine is.
It ranges from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 50 lakh, depending on which state you are in. The second bond requires you to work in government hospitals or clinics; again, the details vary.
The bond can last between 1 and 5 years, but if you want to leave the job, the penalty is between Rs 10 lakhs and 1 crore.
Basically the student is boxed in; first they have to spend half a decade in medical colleges, then half a decade in state health service. You know what is common in both: poor standards.
Reality of Medical Colleges
Take a look at this report; it says almost 80% of medical colleges in India do not meet the regulatory criteria. Hostels are poor, infrastructures are old, faculty is absent most of the time, and ragging is rampant.
Four out of five colleges have the same situation, and students spend half a decade there, and then again they turn to state healthcare.
Same is the situation; 80% of public health centers are below average, and salaries are also a fraction of those of private hospitals.
This is why brain drain is such a big issue among Indian doctors. They are not getting good salaries, facilities are poor, etc.
Around 59,000 Indian doctors work in Britain, America, Canada, and Australia. They make up 5% of America’s workforce and 11% of Britain’s workforce. Can you blame them?
After so many hardships, money always comes before everything else. The question is how do we fix this? Obviously, government funding is a big problem
Countries Spending on Health Sector
| India | 1.2% of its GDP |
| China | 7% of its GDP |
| USA | 16.8 of its GDP |
| UK | 10% of its GDP |
So in this case, the solution is to spend money on the health problem. Maybe this could have saved the life of that Kolkata doctor.
We are not talking about complicated upgrades; even simple upgrades can be helpful, like a separate ON CALL ROOM or more lighting in corridors or more security personnel or more CCTV cameras. Doctors clearly deserve it.
Doctors are clearly worth it.
Just think about the Wuhan Virus pandemic; these were the doctors who saved us; they worked when you worked from home.
They did 24-hour shifts; they spent many days without taking leaves and did not meet their families, so we as a nation must repay their debt.
Not only by beating utensils outside our house or just by doing candle march, but by spending more on the medical infrastructure of India.
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