Shocking deaths of more than 30 children in less than 24 hours at Gorakhpur BRD medical college hospital, deaths of 49 babies in government hospital of Farrukhabad in one month, dog mutilating a body in the mortuary of RML government hospital, Lucknow, fire in trauma centre of the prestigious King George’s Medical college, Lucknow— all these point a finger at the state of Uttar Pradesh's public healthcare system.
The National Rural Health Mission, launched to improve rural healthcare, was much more in news for its scams in the state than its role in improving healthcare in remote rural pockets. Still there are many villages devoid of proper medical facilities where locals have to travel more than 20 to 30km to get access to proper medical facilities. The primary health centres which form the backbone of healthcare system in rural areas are in shambles. According to official figures their number shrunk by 8 per cent while the population of the state grew by 25 per cent in the past 15 years.
The Rural health Statistics figures reveal that number of communicable and non-communicable disease deaths are very high in the state. Of the entire country, 48 per cent of typhoid deaths, 18 per cent of tuberculosis deaths and 17 per cent of cancer deaths take place in UP. Not only this, UP has India’s second-highest maternal mortality rate after Assam.
“ The reality is grim, these figures are an ample example that healthcare in UP has miserably failed to improve. The government does not want to focus on this priority area and has not paid any attention to improve healthcare services in the state,” said Dr B.P. Banerjee.
According to findings of the National Family Health Survey-4 of 2015-16, UP has fared quite badly in terms of average heath indicators. The state records the country's highest infant mortality rate (at 64 per 1,000 births) which is far higher than country’s average (41).
“Go to villages like Madho Tanda and Gopalnagar and see people living like insects in the absence of proper medical care,” said a villager Naumi Lal, who had to come down to Lucknow for proper treatment when his wife developed some acute gynaecological problem. Healthcare has not been on priority list of any of the past governments, too. According to a 2012 National Institute of Public Finance and Policy report, the per capita expenditure on health in UP increased from Rs 260 to Rs 372 over four years to 2010 but it failed to make any impact.
There are several factors which can be attributed to poor healthcare in the state— shortage of doctors, shortage of primary health centres and community health centres, their extremely poor conditions and lack of political will to improve the system.
As per Rural Health Statistics 2015 figures, UP is in urgent need of 31,037 primary health centres and 1,293 community health centres to cater to its demand of growing population. Official figure show that 85 per cent of patients go to private hospitals. Some even turn to fake quacks for medical assistance, which is even more disastrous.
