PHCs- Treatment or Place to Die ???

Narayan Lakshman of The Hindu decodes NSSO data to paint a grim picture of India`s primary health case service to find that more poor people go to private clinics than public clinics…

It is well known that the entire public healthcare system, from tertiary care hospitals in large cities to Primary Health Centres (PHCs) in rural areas, is riddled with manpower shortages and inadequate supply of critical drugs and blood, so much so that one healthcare expert with senior government experience described PHCs as the place “where poor people go to die”. (See full report of 8th August, 16–here)

See also by Narayan Lakshman in recent series on dwindling heath care in India: MALADY NATION… “The experience of many patients such as Sanjiv leave little doubt that Tamil Nadu’s public healthcare system is a lifeline to vast numbers among the poorer sections of its population.”