‘Social justice being denied in health sector’ Express News Service First Published : 30 May 2009 08:02:06 AM IST
http://tinyurl.com/nddqer He stressed the need for starting a medical research centre by converging other medical branches like ayurveda and homoeopathy with an objective of bringing down the cost of treatment and medicines. Good health with social justice should be the motto of the government in the health sector, he said. http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=%E2%80%98Social+justice+being+denied+in+health+sector%E2%80%99&artid=HFCOVT%7CUtyY=&SectionID=1ZkF/jmWuSA=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=X7s7i%7CxOZ5Y=&SEO= KOLLAM: Former Vice-Chancellor of Kerala University B.Ekbal has said that it is a shame on the state that communicable diseases are reappearing. Delivering the keynote address at a seminar on the topic `Problems facing the health sector’, organised as part of the state conference of the Kerala Government Hospital Employees Association here on Friday, Ekbal said that the reason for the situation was the lack of sense about social hygiene among the people who were very conscious about their personal hygiene. The life-style diseases like diabetes, heart ailments and cancer are also on the increase in the state because of the lack of physical exercises and changing food habits. Even in rural areas, more than 20 percent are diabetic patients, which is four times higher than the national average, he said. He said social justice is being denied in the health sector of the state as specialty treatments have gone beyond the reach of common man. In the international arena, Kerala had been cited along with Cuba and Sri Lanka in achieving high standards in the medical sector. The government hospitals had played a great role in providing cheap treatment to the people. However, with the increasing process of privatisation, things are changing and the expenditure on health care is also increasing. In 1987, the per capita expenditure of the people in Kerala for health care was Rs 89 which had risen to Rs 1,722 in 2004. The mushrooming of super specialty hospitals and private medical colleges has weakened the government hospitals and caused the sky rocketing of the medical expenses, Ekbal said. Ekbal also pointed out another dangerous trend emerging in our health sector. With the establishment of more medical colleges, the people with less capability are also becoming doctors, he said. He stressed the need for starting a medical research centre by converging other medical branches like ayurveda and homoeopathy with an objective of bringing down the cost of treatment and medicines. Good health with social justice should be the motto of the government in the health sector, he said. The Health Department and the Local Administration Department should move together to bring more decentralisation in the health sector so that the common people would benefited, he said. Sony B Thengamam was the moderator and KGHEA general secretary R.Sundaresan welcomed the gathering. Shrikant Vinayak Barve Bollywood news, movie reviews, film trailers and more! Go to http://in.movies.yahoo.com/
