Poor basic hospital infrastructure

However, this work was carried out in such a hurry that after three years, the 'hospital' is in a state of disrepair. Somewhere the land has not been decided, somewhere the detailed project report (DPR) has not been prepared, in some of the started construction, the work has been stopped because of the people's representatives. There is no budget in any municipality, it is 'frozen' because it cannot be spent anywhere.

If a citizen has to go to the market for shopping, he spends money to buy goods. If you have to go by car, the fare will be divided. Saves on lunch expenses. He leaves after making sure that he will reach home by this time in the evening. Just for a day's work, ordinary citizens make plans like this, but every plan made by the state governing government should be more systematic and long-term.

However, there is a tendency in the government to make and announce plans for cheap popularity without ensuring resources. The fascination of cheap popularity in political leadership is such that the foundation stone of the same airport is laid again and again, different leaders try to inaugurate the same road. However, as careful as in announcement, foundation laying and inauguration is not shown in planning, resource management and implementation, a vivid example of this is the abandoned basic hospital.

The constitution states that 'every citizen shall have the right to receive basic health care from the state free of charge and no one shall be deprived of emergency health care' and 'every citizen shall have the right to equal access to health care'. The policy and program of the government introduced three years ago to build a hospital with at least five beds in every municipality to guarantee this constitutional right was commendable.

At that time, it was announced that 'based on geography and population, basic hospitals from 5 to 15 beds will be established and upgraded at every local level'. However, without ensuring the management of resources, land and manpower, the foundation was rushed. Even after the foundation stone, the government did not prioritize the construction of the hospital. The government does not seem to have done its homework on how to manage the operation and manpower when a new basic hospital is opened, when the posts in the existing hospitals are not being filled. On the other hand, the government has been hasty in purchasing health equipment for them as the basic hospital has not been decided recently.

According to the government, the sources of spending about 58 billion rupees for the construction of 396 basic hospitals, which have been laid in the first phase, have been secured. 20 billion 64 crore rupees have been spent in these three years. For the additional 259 hospitals in the second phase, resources have not yet been secured. In cases where the construction has not started at all, or where the work has been stopped due to disputes or resource problems, it is necessary for the government to review the overall program of basic hospital construction. At least a basic hospital is needed everywhere. However, if the resources cannot be managed at once, the work should be accelerated by proceeding in stages.

Wherever there is a condition to work uninterruptedly without any problem, the work should be carried out to operate the hospital as soon as possible. In other cases, resolving disputes, managing resources, and creating an environment that can easily become a hospital should be prepared. This plan cannot be abandoned because the government failed three years ago.

does not happen only after the construction of the hospital building. From health equipment to manpower management, many other infrastructures have to be prepared. It is certainly challenging to provide quality healthcare services by opening basic hospitals in municipalities when citizens are deprived of minimum healthcare services. The Union Government and the local level should build as many hospitals as possible with firm determination and ensure basic health services in the villages.