Chennai, Dec 3 (UNI) The huge disparity between urban and rural
areas was one of the biggest challenges in building a comprehensive
healthcare system, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu said on Monday.
Inaugurating the Gem hospital here, he said India has made significant
strides in improving the health outcomes of the people with the
availability of modern methods of treatment and better healthcare
facilities.
However, one of the biggest challenges in building a comprehensive
healthcare system is the existence of huge disparity between urban
and rural areas, he added.
He said though healthcare has been accorded utmost priority by
successive governments since Independence, many challenges on
this front continue to be formidable.
They include low public spend, low doctor-patient ratio, low
patient-bed ratio, rising out-of-pocket expenditure, dearth of
medical colleges and trained doctors, inadequate infrastructure
in rural areas, lack of penetration of health insurance and
inadequate disease surveillance and and preventive mechanisms,
the Vice-President said.
While the private sector was no doubt complementing the government’s
efforts in providing healthcare facilities, the focus of the corporate
sector was mostly confined to urban areas.
'The time has come for the private sector to expand their facilities
to the rural areas, where the majority of India’s population lives',
Mr Venkaiah said.
'To bridge the urban-rural divide, We need one medical College in
every district. In Tamilnadu, I expect two medical colleges in every
district', he said.
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