Context: 

Recently, from Kerala, a State with one of the most advanced health care systems in the country, a report of medical negligence has been observed where it was found that a surgical instrument had been left in the patient’s stomach.

• Also, growing vacancies in seats to Bachelor of Dental Surgery and Master of Dental Surgery courses in dental colleges across the country are a matter of concern. 

A Medical College:

• A medical college hospital with state-of-the-art facilities is established with a view to ensure bedside care, a mandatory requirement for an apprenticeship, and is the most crucial component in medical training.
• An institution that has dual purposes:
  • Educational Role: An institution for the education and training of students to become medical professionals through teaching and internship. 
  • Medical Care: It is expected that patients with serious illnesses can avail services from medical colleges anytime when they have a referral from the lower-level facilities.
• Need: The policy proposal of 2019 by the Union government to convert district hospitals to medical colleges, along with a policy of sanctioning an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-like institution in every State, highlights the need to examine the contribution of medical colleges in patient care from a public health perspective.

Challenges faced by the Healthcare System in India:

• Poor Infrastructure and Connectivity 
• Overloading of Patients 
• Mismatch between Patient Needs and Provided Services
• Deficient Referral System
• Shortage of Specialists
• Non-functionality of Secondary-level Care Facilities

Way Forward:

• Awareness: To avoid myths, awareness and education of people is a must. 
• Need to Redefine Priorities: Need to strengthen secondary-care facilities, particularly district hospitals, which can cater to wider curative care requirements.
• Enhance Referral Systems: Need to implement and reinforce the efficient referral systems from primary healthcare centers to well-equipped district hospitals.
• Strengthening of Infrastructure & Connectivity: Need to focus on development of existing infrastructure, connectivity and clinical facilities.
• A Standard Approach: A standard model and approach should be built by consensus and then need to be adhered strictly to avoid mismatching like some district hospitals that have a history of resisting the proposal to convert to medical colleges and are still doing well in patient care.
• Prioritization: Secondary-care facilities need to be prioritized over large state-of-the-art medical colleges if curative care needs of the people are the priority.

News Source: The Hindu