Patna, Dec. 11: Two years is what it will take the government to drastically improve the standard of healthcare in Bihar.
The claim has come from the new health minister, Chandra Mohan Rai, who has promised that the state will have new hospitals, round-the-clock medical services, modern ICUs, well-equipped ambulances and better communication network in just two years.
Shedding light on the government?s ?action plan?, health secretary Deepak Kumar said 11 district hospitals and about 20 subdivisional hospitals will be built at an average cost of Rs 5.5 crore each.
?We have no shortage of funds for the development of infrastructure. We plan to spend Rs 94 crore from the plan outlay in the next three months,? Kumar said. The government could also engage private players in its healthcare drive.
However, the contents of the recently-tabled CAG report showed that the state had a long way to go before it can boast of a truly advanced healthcare system.
Dearth of doctors, paramedical staff and medicine and poor infrastructure continue to plague healthcare in Bihar, the report pointed out.
Sample this: 41 per cent of primary health centres (PHC) and additional primary health centres (APHC) and 49 per cent of sub-centres did not have buildings of their own.
Besides, the buildings that house 45 per cent of the sub-centres, 36 per cent of the PHCs/APHCs and 38 per cent of referral hospitals were in poor shape, the report said.
According to Rai, Bihar had a shortage of 1,000 doctors and 8,000 para medical staff. But the report showed a discrepancy amounting to more than five times the minister?s estimate.
?The real problem is the almost non-existent government health machinery in the villages,? said Pankaj, a social activist of Bettiah in West Champaran, adding that absenteeism and private practice by government doctors also affected healthcare.
?Bettiah alone has at least 300 government doctors running private clinics. When these doctors go to their assigned hospitals, they refer patients to their respective clinics and some chosen medical shops,? said Pankaj.
