Punjab people deserve better health care (letter)
AJ. Philip's survey of primary health centres in Punjab (Feb 4, 5 and 6) has brought out the pathetic neglect of the basic healthcare. The Bhor Committee (1943) has laid down the three-tier health setup for the country with the primary health centre as the pivot for providing preventive and curative services at the grassroots level. District hospitals and specialised higher medical institutions were to provide the secondary and tertiary care service. Instead of strengthening the PHCs and district hospitals with adequate staff, equipment and drugs, the government continues to hoodwink the public by announcing new schemes which hardly make any impact. People, especially the poor, continue to be denied the basic healthcare as enshrined in the Constitution. No doubt, Punjab is lagging behind in social service indices, of which health services is an important segment compared with many other states. Having closely observed the working of PHCs in Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, I feel that the system is best for the country if appropriate steps are taken to strengthen it and plug the loopholes in its working. Instead of wasting financial and human resources in unproductive activities like realty development, it would be better to improve the existing peripheral health services to provide succour to the suffering rural folks of the state. Brig H. S. SANDHU (retd), Panchkula