Letter to BS: Investment in public health is abysmally low in India

Apropos “Injurious to health” (May 8), I entirely agree with you that merely capping hospitals’ profits margins amounts to playing to the gallery and will be counterproductive. In India, investment in public health is abysmally low. The effectiveness of primary health centres leaves much to be desired. The absence/ineffectiveness of these centers means people in the rural areas and small towns are either unable to access public health facilities or have to go to cities to access them. This is both time-consuming and expensive. 

Then there are government hospitals that are too few, understaffed and poorly equipped. So the pressure falls on private hospitals whose quality of services and expertise is subject to wide variations. Availing of services of private hospitals entails a heavy burden on the poor and uninsured. Instead of using doubtful measures to regulate private hospitals, the governments — both in the Centre and in the states —need to spend more money to improve availability and effectiveness of primary health centres as well as to set up more government hospitals with well qualified staff and basic functional equipments. 

Arun Pasricha  New Delhi

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