Question

article on public helth care system ment for everyone

Answer 1

The modern public health system in India evolved due to a number of influences from the past 70 years, including British influence from the colonial period.The need for an efficient and effective public health system in India is large. 20% of all maternal deaths and 25% of all child deaths in the world occur in India. 69 out of 1000 children are dead by the time they reach the age of 5.58% of Indians are immunized in urban areas compared to only 39% in rural areas. Communicable disease is the cause of death for 53% of all deaths in India.

Public health initiatives that affect people in all states, such as the National Mental Health Program, are instilled by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.There are multiple systems set up in rural and urban areas of India including Primary Health Centres, Community Health Centres, Sub Centres, and Government Hospitals. These agencies must follow the standards set by Indian Public Health Standards documents that are revised when needed.


The healthcare system is organised into primary, secondary, and tertiary levels. At the primary level are Sub Centres and Primary Health Centres (PHCs). At the secondary level there are Community Health Centres (CHCs) and smaller Sub-District hospitals. Finally, the top level of public care provided by the government is the tertiary level, which consists of Medical Colleges and District/General Hospitals.[1] The number of PHCs, CHCs, Sub Centres, and District Hospitals has increased in the past six years, although not all of them are up to the standards set by Indian Public Health Standards.

Sub Centres

A Sub Centre is designed to serve extremely rural areas with the expenses fully covered by the national government. Mandates require health staff to be at least two workers (male and female) to serve a population of 5000 people (or 3000 in a remote, dangerous location). Sub Centres also work to educate rural peoples about healthy habits for a more long-term impact.

Primary Health Centres

Primary Health Centres exist in more developed rural areas of 30,000 or more (20,000 in remote areas) and serve as larger health clinics staffed with doctors and paramedics. Patients can be referred from local sub centres to PHCs for more complex cases.A major difference from Sub Centres is that state governments fund PHCs, not the national government. PHCs also function to improve health education with a larger emphasis on preventative measures.

Community Health Centres

A Community Health Centre is also funded by state governments and accepts patients referred from Primary Health Centres. It serves 120,000 people in urban areas or 80,000 people in remote areas.
Patients from these agencies can be transferred to general hospitals for further treatments. Thus, CHC's are also first referral units, or FRUs, which are required to have obstetric care, new born/childcare, and blood storage capacities at all hours everyday of the week.

District Hospitals

District Hospitals are the final referral centres for the primary and secondary levels of the public health system. It is expected that at least one hospital is in each district of India, although in 2010 it was recorded that only 605 hospitals exist when there are 640 districts. There are normally anywhere between 75 to 500 beds, depending on population demand. These district hospitals often lack modern equipment and relations with local blood banks.

Medical Colleges and Research Institutions

All India Institutes of Medical Sciences is owned and controlled by the central government. These are referral hospitals with specialized facilities. All India Institutes presently functional are AIMS New Delhi, AIIMS Bhopal,AIIMS Bhubaneshwar, AIIMS Jodhpur, AIIMS Raipur, and AIIMS Rishikesh. A Regional Cancer Centre is a cancer care hospital and research institute controlled jointly by the central and the respective state governments. Government Medical Colleges are owned and controlled by the respective state governments and also function as referral hospitals.