The Health Ministry’s plans to introduce a 3½ year rural health care course, tentatively called Bachelor of Rural Health Care (BRHC), aiming to meet the acute shortage of doctors in rural areas have run into rough weather.
Citing opposition from various stakeholders including the Indian Medical Association (IMA), a body of the medical professionals in the country, a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare has trashed the Government’s proposal for introduction of the health course to create a new pool of healthcare professionals.
The Committee has instead recommended compulsory one-year rural posting for fresh medical graduates to meet shortage of doctors in rural areas.
The Government had proposed introduction of the BSc (Community Health) course from the current session to produce Community Health Officers (CHOs) in rural India where adequate healthcare remain a distant dream.
“In view of the opinion of a majority of members opposing introduction of BSc (Community Health) course, the Committee recommended that Government should not go ahead with proposal for introduction of course,” panel, headed by Brajesh Pathak said.
During its meet, a majority of stakeholders in health sector opposed introduction of course on grounds that providing two different sets of health facilitators for urban and rural masses was not only “ethically wrong” but also “unconstitutional”.
Agreeing with their arguments, the panel said Government should continue its focus on strengthening existing health care infrastructure by increasing intake of MBBS doctors and making provision of one-year compulsory rural posting for them after internship, which would help in providing healthcare for rural people.
Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had recently stated in Parliament that though medical bodies like the IMA were opposed to proposal, Government is committed to introduce the course, with inbuilt safeguards, to address serious shortage of human resources in health sector in rural areas.
The Committee in its 65th Report to Parliament further recommended that to meet immediate demand, graduates and postgraduates in AYUSH stream may be appointed.