Doctors WHO are not: Healthcare in India needs to be revisited

Medical education and the healthcare sector are in news for all the wrong reasons. ‘The Health Workforce in India’, a WHO report, based on the 2001 census data claims that over 57 per cent allopathic doctors in the country have no medical qualifications. Some experts claim the data on which the WHO report has relied is flawed. Still, the findings may shock urban Indians but villagers heavily depend on quacks or unqualified doctors, who fill a void in India’s healthcare system. According to a report, about 25 lakh quacks practise medicine without acquiring formal training.

In contrast, the total number of registered doctors was a little above nine lakh in 2014. The WHO report only re-establishes a known fact. Since qualified doctors opt for lucrative careers in cities, a few NGOs are training quacks to upgrade their existing skills with a theoretical knowledge of medicine. In West Bengal the ‘Liver Foundation’ has been doing this work for years. The Indian Medical Association acknowledges the presence of quacks but appears helpless in checking them; their popularity remains steadfast in their communities and areas. Every year a few quacks are arrested, only to be released later due to public pressure. Instead of mocking and berating them, several NGOs are harnessing their skills across the country. 

Unfortunately, healthcare of a large segment of the population rests on these semi-qualified professionals. It is hoped the data based on the 2011 census would show better results, the gravity of the situation persists; only one doctor is available for 11,528 people in government hospitals. Figures released by the Union Health Ministry in 2015 show one primary healthcare centre serves 32,944 people in rural India, where 11.9 per cent positions of doctor lie vacant; and at community health centres 81.2 per cent specialist positions remain unfilled. Apart from upgrading the skills of nurses and ANM workers, as suggested by Union Health Minister JP Nadda, the government should also train this 57 per cent segment to utilise available resources, before balancing the skewed ratio of doctors, favouring urban India.

http://www.tribuneindia.com, Jul 21, 2016, 12:37 AM (IST)