New Delhi :-Union Health Minister, Dr Harsh Vardhan, charing a meeting of the health secretaries on National Health Assurance Mission (NAHM) said it would require several rounds of brainstorming session to formulate and roll out a proper plan to address health needs of 1.25 billion Indians. Dr Vardhan, “Let us have a social movement that will revive India’s past glory as a health provider to its people. NHAM, with the right implementation, right monitoring mechanism and right information systems, will make India a health power just as it was in historic times.” Dr Harsh Vardhan also got the States on board with his idea of disease control through investment in preventive and promotive health. He announced at the meeting the “Pan-India campaign days” programme which would empower people with information packages and orientation services on many sensitive public health areas. These ‘days’ would be marked by mass contact programmes and hand out free diagnosis, vaccination and preventive care facilities to people all over India.
Lifestyles are also a focus. In this area, tobacco and alcohol consumption are named, as are the merits of sanitation, public and personal hygiene, the importance of organ donation, the promotion of blood donation and awareness of health care of the elderly. He stressed, “I would request all the States to observe these days because I feel that with time these will become points of rally for NGOs, doctors and those who have experienced but survived these diseases and conditions to provide a platform which would go on to motivating people on ways to avoid them.” Dr Harsh Vardhan said, “If necessary you could insert a clause on mandatory prescribing of rational drugs into the contract of new doctors joining the health service.”
Dr Harsh Vardhan advised some of the States to improve their absorptive capabilities by initiating modern management techniques. The Prime Minister has stressed that the raison deter of the National Democratic Alliance government is the poorest Indian. The aam admi should not be deprived of his dues by systemic inefficiencies, he stressed. Alongside, the Centre is releasing Rs 170 crore for upgrading several existing old hospitals like Medical College Calcutta and Agra Medical College into AIIMS-comparable super-speciality health care institutions. Plans are also being implemented to add college wings to district hospitals with a view to enhancing manpower availability and creating new medical colleges. The present doctor-population ratio (1:1700) is not desirable, the Minister said. Dr Harsh Vardhan also said that laboratories are being set up in the states with a view to decentralising food and drug testing. This, it is hoped, will speed up approvals in a transparent manner. The Indian Council of Medical Research has also embarked on a scheme of setting up research facilities in the rural areas of many states, particularly in the north-eastern region.
The Minister sat through the day-long consultation along with key officials and advisers including Mr Lov Verma, Union Health Secretary, and Dr Jagdish Prasad, Director General of Health Services. He stressed the need to institutionalise this dialogue as sharing of experiences is an essential part of consensus building.
