Gearing for a healthier tomorrow

Learn from global success stories
Assam’s initiative to enact a legislation declaring right to health as an inclusive right of every citizen is good. This concept has existed for sometime. Even the Supreme Court has given a judgment that people can take up service of any nearest private hospital at the time of emergency. It’s the duty of any hospital in the country to start treatment immediately. They can’t refuse to take such cases even if patient can’t afford to pay their fees. They can refer the patient to other government hospitals only when the condition of the patient stabilises. But there is not much awareness about this verdict. One provision of the legislation says that the health department will be empowered to fix responsibility and accountability. How can the health department which will be responsible for the implementation be the body to ensure accountability? Moreover there is no guarantee of good healthcare for everyone, since we don’t have a comprehensive healthcare service across India. We must learn from Canadian and European healthcare services, which are good examples comprehensive systems. In this system, people can avail of services from any hospital which is nearest to them, payment on behalf of such patients is done by the government. There is the much-debated National Health Bill, which has now been relegated to the backburner. There is no progress on its implementation. Our neighbour Thailand has achieved universal access recently and we need to learn from them. There are similar success stories worldwide - Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, Ghana, Costa Rica exemplify them.    
Ravi Duggal, healthcare activist

Mandatory provisions in place
Healthcare and education is the primary responsibility of the government and this should be provided. While the bill makes it mandatory for government hospitals and private health establishments to extend free services to a patient seeking emergency treatment. There is already a law, that it is the duty of all healthcare providers to provide emergency care, when a patient enters their premises. However in a private hospital, the law also says that first-aid needs to be given to stabilise the patient and then the individuals can be transferred to the nearest government hospital.            
Dr Sujit Chatterjee, CEO, Dr LH Hiranandani Hospital

Plug loopholes some may exploit 
Assam government has taken a good step. But one needs to look at the move holistically. Every hospital has a fundamental duty to save as many human lives as possible. Every hospital also receives patients who may be unable to afford the treatment that their condition demands. A blanket 24 hour-free emergency period combines both categories and this may create a problem. In most emergencies, medical aid required in the first 24 hours may run into lakhs. Therefore an 'income proof' related clause should be appended to such a law to avoid rampant misuse.    
Dr Vijay D'Silva, medical director, Asian Heart Institute

No proper infrastructure existing
Right to health is a basic necessity of the people. Many people die because they don’t have access to good healthcare system. There is nothing more important than life, but there is hardly such an infrastructure existing uniformly everywhere in India. Also health insurance policies don’t cover all the expenses. So once the right to health will come into force, the government will be duty bound to improve health infrastructure and accessibility. In foreign countries, every life is important and valued. The government cares for everyone irrespective of their capacity to afford healthcare costs. We have government hospitals, but their quality is not up to the mark.    
Vibhor Shrivastava, asst manager

Check uneven growth of facilities
There is definitely a need to bring the relevant legislation for everyone at the national level. Only then can we hope for uniform development of health infrastructure and special care units for the all citizens equally. Some towns or cities like Mumbai have good healthcare facilities and clinics for citizens, but a majority of people still don’t have access to the same. The condition of tribals and people staying in remote villages is even worse. The government needs to be serious about people’s healthcare. A large section of people aren’t insured as they can’t afford insurance cover. We may not be aware, but families have become bankrupt due to expensive healthcare system.  
Sanjay Kukreja, businessman

Authorities think all’s hunky-dory
It is a significant initiative to enact a legislation declaring right to health as an inclusive right. But they must emphatically ensure that doctors and private hospitals must improve their services to poor patients seeking emergency treatment. We will surely look forward for other state governments to take the lead and enact similar laws. Over the years, private hospitals have increased which provide good treatment, albeit at an astronomical cost. Since the affluent classes can afford such treatment, the authorities feel everything is hunky-dory with the system. Such legislation will make private hospitals more responsible, display sensitivity and respect to each patient.   
Chirag Mavani, student

Set up regulatory body for quality treatment
Yes, we should have similar laws in our state too. Actually Maharashtra should have been the first to have such a legislation. This is because if we take our city into account, it is nothing less than a city-state. This is the place with slum colonies which spread maximum contagious diseases. Also various pollutants from industrial effluent cause many respiratory ailments. In fact every monsoon, invariably diseases like malaria, jaundice, dengue leptospirosis  cause havoc. The state should take initiatives towards it and this will definitely help in making the city healthier. The government must setup a regulatory body for ensuring quality treatment and accountability of health sector.     Tejashree Bhopatkar,  media professional

Rid needless paperwork to save lives
In a country which has traditionally been mired in red tape, needless paperwork, multiple jurisdiction issues many have suffered. Moreover, even when the injured hang between life and death, we a quibble over trivial issues. Owing to the draconian procedures, the common man has also become insensitive to an emergency situation. That is precisely the reason why we see instances of accident victims left languishing on the road, while many bystanders turn a blind eye, feigning ignorance. Even private hospitals turn away accident victims no matter how serious the case is. Public hospitals have little respect for life. This is a landmark directive and will go a long way in alleviating agony.    
Deepak Agharkar, finance director