Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra has informed all states that district and referral hospitals being converted into medical colleges will continue to receive funding support from the Centre under the National Health Mission (NHM), the Health Ministry announced on Wednesday. This clarification follows concerns from various states and Union Territories that existing district and referral hospitals (DH/RH) transitioning to medical colleges would cease receiving NHM funding, prompting demands for the construction of additional hospitals.
An organized attempt has been made to raise the number of medical colleges in India throughout the last nine years. There are currently 706 medical colleges in the nation, up 82% from the number of such establishments in 2014 when 319 were added. This growth is a component of a larger plan to improve the network of medical education, with an emphasis on professional education accessibility and quality, especially in underprivileged areas.
The goal is to address the lack of accessibility to medical education and healthcare services, as the Health Ministry’s statement makes clear. Enhancing the doctor-to-population ratio has been a continuous global endeavor to guarantee improved access to healthcare. In keeping with this, India launched an officially supported program in 2014 to offer financial assistance for the establishment of new medical colleges through the improvement or strengthening of district hospitals.
In its statement, the Ministry reaffirmed the government’s commitment to building up the infrastructure for medical education and making sure that funding stays available even when district hospitals become medical schools. With this action, the healthcare requirements of neglected communities will be met, and medical education in India will become more accessible overall.
Sustaining the increasing momentum in the medical education sector requires continued support from the NHM for these transitional institutions. It guarantees the continued strength of the current healthcare infrastructure while also generating new avenues for medical training and education. The initiatives taken by the Health Ministry show a calculated strategy for creating an all-encompassing healthcare system that can meet the various demands of the populace.
The Union Health Secretary’s pledge to maintain National Health Mission (NHM) financing for district and referral hospitals that become medical colleges is a big step in the right direction for healthcare and medical education in India. In order to enhance healthcare accessibility and quality, especially in underprivileged areas, the government intends to resolve financing difficulties and reaffirm its commitment to growing medical education. This program is a component of a larger effort to improve the ratio of doctors to population and guarantee that there are more trained medical professionals on hand to satisfy the nation’s expanding healthcare demands.
SOURCE:
INDIAN EXPRESS
