57.3% allopathic practitioners not qualified: Health Ministry
CMs of all States have been asked to take appropriate action
14/08/2019, BINDU SHAJAN PERAPPADAN,NEW DELHI
The Union Health Ministry has warned that an uneven distribution of qualified doctors puts rural patients at risk. “At present, 57.3% of personnel currently practising allopathic medicine do not have a medical qualification,” says the Ministry’s data, adding that this puts rural patients at risk given the high density of doctors in urban areas and India’s poor doctor-population ratio of 1:1456 as compared with the World Health Organisation standards of 1:1000.
‘A huge skew’
“There is a huge skew in the distribution of doctors working in the urban and rural areas. Consequently, most of our rural and poor population is denied good quality care, leaving them in the clutches of quacks,” said Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.
Section 15 of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, prohibits a person other than a medical practitioner enrolled on a State Medical Register to practice medicine in the State.
“We have requested all Chief Ministers of all the States to take appropriate action under the law against quacks, and also to evolve suitable policies to ensure availability of a quality health workforce in rural areas,” said a senior health official.
According to government records, a total of 11,46,044 allopathic doctors were registered with the State Medical Councils/ Medical Council of India as on December 31, 2018.
Mid-level professionals
Professor K. Srinath Reddy of the Public Health Foundation of India noted that the wide gaps in comprehensive primary healthcare services for many rural areas need to be filled through competent mid-level healthcare providers who are adequately trained, technologically enabled and legally empowered.
The Health Ministry states that it is now looking into bringing in mid-level healthcare providers to relieve overburdened specialists.
CMs of all States have been asked to take appropriate action
14/08/2019, BINDU SHAJAN PERAPPADAN,NEW DELHI
The Union Health Ministry has warned that an uneven distribution of qualified doctors puts rural patients at risk. “At present, 57.3% of personnel currently practising allopathic medicine do not have a medical qualification,” says the Ministry’s data, adding that this puts rural patients at risk given the high density of doctors in urban areas and India’s poor doctor-population ratio of 1:1456 as compared with the World Health Organisation standards of 1:1000.
‘A huge skew’
“There is a huge skew in the distribution of doctors working in the urban and rural areas. Consequently, most of our rural and poor population is denied good quality care, leaving them in the clutches of quacks,” said Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.
Section 15 of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, prohibits a person other than a medical practitioner enrolled on a State Medical Register to practice medicine in the State.
“We have requested all Chief Ministers of all the States to take appropriate action under the law against quacks, and also to evolve suitable policies to ensure availability of a quality health workforce in rural areas,” said a senior health official.
According to government records, a total of 11,46,044 allopathic doctors were registered with the State Medical Councils/ Medical Council of India as on December 31, 2018.
Mid-level professionals
Professor K. Srinath Reddy of the Public Health Foundation of India noted that the wide gaps in comprehensive primary healthcare services for many rural areas need to be filled through competent mid-level healthcare providers who are adequately trained, technologically enabled and legally empowered.
The Health Ministry states that it is now looking into bringing in mid-level healthcare providers to relieve overburdened specialists.
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