The condition of government hospitals in India have never been the best. They have always been looked down upon for their lack of infrastructure, money and staff.
And when a new born baby dies in a hospital after a rat nibbles his finger, there is hardly anything left to say.
Guntur Government Hospital, Andhra Pradesh, is the place where this shocking incident took place. The boy was not in some general ward, he was kept in ICU (Intensive Care unit) as he was undergoing a treatment for a urinary tract problem. ICU is that ward where a patient is being kept under 24 hours watch, and immediate assistance is provided whenever required. If such an incident happens in an ICU, then it’s not that hard to imagine the case of other wards of the hospital.
What was even sadder about this incident was that the parents had already warned the hospital officials about the rat situation in ICU, but that still couldn’t prevent the incident from happening. Perhaps the rat traps didn’t work. (Source: NDTV)
Now let’s have a look at India’s situation when it comes to healthcare.
According to the World Bank, India almost tops the list when it comes to children suffering from malnutrition. More than one third of the total malnourished children of the world are in India. And when we combine these statistics with the healthcare system of our country, the situation literally becomes ‘deadly’ (Source: Wikipedia).
According to a report by Forbes, India spends only 30% of its healthcare budget on primary healthcare facilities. Probably this is one of the major reasons why in India almost 7% of kids die before reaching the age of 5.
When a kid is admitted to a hospital, he is supposed to fight the disease, and not rodents and insects hovering around him.
If this is the condition of state hospitals, where is a poor guy supposed to go? The huge monetary gap between the government and private hospitals, naturally doesn’t give him the luxury to go for private treatment. In a country where almost 70% of the population reside in rural and semi-urban areas, government hospitals are the last resort for a majority of people.
When these people reach the government hospitals, all they could generally find are dirty wards, ancient equipments, and huge queues to get a bed. It’s surprising that in a developing country like India, the government is reluctant in spending money on people’s health. In a report by The Guardian, it was mentioned that India spends only 1.3% of GDP on public healthcare system.
It’s not just a matter of concern, but a matter of shame for the whole country when a 10 day old boy gets his fingers and an eye nibbled by a rat in an ICU. N. Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, suspended three officials and ordered for an inquiry in this case. He said, “Shocked and deeply disturbed after learning that a baby boy died after bitten by rats in Guntur hospital.” (Source: Daily Mail)
Is expressing grief and sorrow the way to fight this situation? The condition of government hospitals is not a mystery to anyone, and if something is not done quickly, I won’t be surprised if more cases like these come up in future.
The government has to understand that everyone cannot go to AIIMS. Other government hospitals have to lift up their standards too.
If you also have something to say about the condition of government hospitals in India, then please do share it through comments.
Source: riseforindia.com
