World | India
Capital hardest hit
A shortage of doctors and nurses continues to ail the public healthcare system, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Monday.
- IANS
- Published: 23:12 August 25, 2008
Jorhat, Assam: A shortage of doctors and nurses continues to ail the public healthcare system, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Monday.
"There is a major shortage of trained medical professionals and nurses in the country, and this is a major challenge for us in providing healthcare services to the people," Singh said.
The prime minister was speaking at a public rally in Jorhat, 310 km east of Assam's main city of Guwahati, after laying the foundation stone of a medical college and inaugurating "hospitals-on-wheels" for 17 districts.
"We need to address these issues both at the national and regional levels to ensure that there are no shortages of doctors and nurses. It is heartening that Assam is taking the lead in setting up medical colleges," he said.
Encouraging results
"The results of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) in Assam were very encouraging, and the state government needs to be complimented for it," he said.
The Jorhat Medical College, to be set up over 48 acres at an estimated cost of Rs16 billion (Dh1.35 billion), is expected to be functional in two years.
The prime minister also met with a group of Hindu monks from Majuli, South Asia's largest river island and was expected to address a meeting of the state's council of ministers at the governor's official residence last night.
He will address students and faculty members of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Guwahati today before leaving for Kokrajhar town in the west of the state, about 250 km from Jorhat.
"The prime minister will lay the foundation stone of the Bodoland University, a planetarium, and a science museum-cum-children's park in Kokrajhar," said Hagrama Mahilary, chief of the Bodoland Territorial Council.
The prime minister is slated to leave for New Delhi this evening.
New Delhi (IANS) It's not just the rural areas that are facing healthcare problems due to a shortage of medical practitioners. A fresh study by an industry lobby yesterday revealed that the national capital is facing a shortage of 12,500 doctors.
The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) said there were just 5,500 doctors for a population of over 10 million people in the national capital.
The Assocham health committee headed by B.K. Rao, chairman of the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, observed: "Delhi is a leading medical centre. It receives huge inflow of outside patients, particularly from states like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and various other parts of the country. The number of doctors is completely inadequate."
"In view of increasing inflow of number of patients, the requirement for additional doctors in Delhi has gone up by 12,500," the study observed.
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