Everyone has a part to play in battling the coronavirus pandemic – but maybe no one has as critical a role as healthcare workers. Yet, Indi...
Everyone has a part to play in battling the coronavirus pandemic – but maybe no one has as critical a role as healthcare workers. Yet, India has fallen short of creating conditions in which these professionals can effectively do their job of saving lives.
This was brought into sharp focus in Delhi this week, when 300 doctors threatened to resign en masse. They doctors allege that they have not been paid their salaries for three months. On Wednesday, over 300 doctors staged a sit-in outside Hyderabad’s Gandhi General Hospital after the family of a deceased coronavirus patient allegedly assaulted one of them. Doctor’s blamed the patient’s death on a severe lack of patient carers and complained of being dangerously overworked due to the shortage of healthcare personnel.
Even in normal times, India has abysmal levels of healthcare coverage. According to norms published by the World Health Organisation, there should be a minimum of 44.5 health workers – doctors, nurses and midwives – per 10,000 people. India, however, has only 20.6 health workers per 10,000 people – less than half of the WHO’s minimum recommended standard.
The extreme shortage of personnel is not surprising. India’s spending on health is among the lowest in the world. Total government expenditure – state and Union – amounted...
