Health remains blind spot in Union Budget: Indian Medical Assosciation

Union Budget presented in the Lok Sabha on Friday is a huge disappointment as health remain a blind spot, said Dr Shantanu Sen, National President of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Saturday.

"The public funding remains at 1.2 % of GDP. Health remains the only subject which the Union Finance Minister has preferred to downplay. There is no clarity of enhancement of investment in Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna either," Sen said.

Highlighting the recent violent attacks on the doctors in the hospital, Sen said, "The atmosphere of violence in our hospitals is directly due to the inadequacy of infrastructure and human resources in public sector and out of pocket expenditure in private sector."

"IMA is willing to partner the Government in Wellness centres if the Government wishes to provide services under a medical doctor. Clinical services from clinicians will ensure patient care and safety. Non-clinicians providing clinical care will actually be part of the problem rather than a solution", he said.

Talking about the Ayushman Bharat scheme of the central government, Sen said: "Had the Government extended the Insurance Coverage under Ayushman Bharat to primary care, thousands of clinics and small hospitals situated in the rural and semi-urban area would have participated."

"This would have made both the Ayushman Bharat and the small hospitals viable and sustainable," he added.

He said that the IMA is concerned that the small and medium hospitals will be decimated with the current design of Health Care.

And so he demanded a review of the concept and operational aspects of Ayushman Bharat while demanding more allocation for Health. IMA also addresses the people of the nation to exert pressure on their MPs to increase public spending on Health.

( With inputs from ANI )