New nat’l health policy: Old wine in a new bottle?

The government had said that they will increase the GDP ratio as well as public spending from 2 to 5 per cent, but it never happened. Instead the national health policy this year focuses mainly on a public-private partnership, which will in turn benefit the corporate sector. Until the government comes forward with a more comprehensive healthcare framework, things will not change. Public spending needs to increase, and there is no alternative to this.Dr Arun Mitra, Alliiance of Doctors for Ethical Healthcare

I do not think it is fair to say that it is old wine in a new bottle. A new direction has definitely been provided by this new policy, which was not outlined in the earlier one in 2002. The fact does remain that some of the targets have not been met since 2002, but this is purely incidental. The more important thing that needs to be looked at is the further privatisation of the health sector provided by this policy. Strategic purchasing: this is not something that the 2002 outline had. This is the first time a national policy is talking about purchasing with respect to primary health care services, which is beyond private hospitals. There is a clear focus in this policy of private sector involvement in healthcare. We cannot trivialise this. There is evidence from India and other countries of healthcare being outsourced to private institutions government does not have the means. This is not the most ethical because we cannot regulate private players, and there is no competition from the public healthcare system either.Dr Amit Sengupta, Jan Swasthya Abhiyan

To say that it is old wine in a new bottle is reductive. So far, it is a good policy, but it remains to be seen how quickly it is implemented, and what the implications of the implementation is. For example, with relation to antibiotic policy, how good is a policy if it does not reach the grass roots. So many patients stop the course as soon as they think they are getting better, and the strain comes back more virulent than ever after developing resistance. This usually ends in the hospital, and a lot of money is spent in the process. I have been part of the policy making process, but it is more than a matter of writing policy. Implementation is everything. The same goes for the national health policy.Dr Om Shrivastava, Multi-drug resitance specialist