The government and Courts of were initially made aware of the plight of its residents surrounding its Healthcare system in March of 2015.
The events that unfolded centered around Martha Sabar, a woman who checked into a primary health center with symptoms of abdominal and chest pain, while she was nine months pregnant. She was sent away without any primary medical treatment, and an absence of medical officers on duty.
If this wasn’t enough of an injustice, Martha Sabar tragically passed away shortly after giving birth to a dead fetus when she returned for treatment six days later, that too in the absence of a doctor.
The woman had been carrying a dead child inside of her for almost a week, as the poison from it slowly spread all through her body. Her passing shed light on the maternal mortality rate that has plagued Odisha, a striking 136 per one hundred thousand births.
This case, along with various other problems that are obvious to patients that walk through any of Odisha’s Healthcare center’s doors, have prompted the government to try and find a solution that everyone can benefit from.
The Consequences Of Martha Sabar’s Death
The High Court, while handing out compensation for the negligence of the health department in this case, has noted how poor the department’s infrastructure truly is.
Not only is there a distinct shortage of staff, there are overall poor facilities throughout the area, resulting in patients not receiving due care on time. Avoidable deaths occurring due to staff negligence and simply a lack of the right tools has been a part of the issue.
Although Martha Sabar’s case is not the only one of its kind, the obvious negligence of it has resulted in a discussion of the need to make the infrastructure better and also make Healthcare more readily available to Odisha’s residents.
The case, even though seven years old, has prompted authorities to pressure the government into taking some sort of action that has been long overdue.
New Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) Guidelines
The IPHS has issued changes in its rules and regulations in an attempt to make better quality healthcare available to the Indian populace, keeping in view the staggering increase in non communicable diseases (NCDs) that have become a norm amongst the susceptible population.
IPHS recommends there to be 1 bed per 1000 population, and falls short with 0.34 beds per 1000 population. IPHS has also instructed there to be an increased number of primary health centers with better facilities made available within them.
The government is trying to finance these changes. It’s not as easy as looking up BetStation sports betting sites while you spend a relaxing day at home, scrolling through news. However the government is determined to make a difference and committed to finding and utilizing funds in this sector.
New Rs. 1062 Crore Budget Announced by The Government
Keeping in view all of these dire outlooks and new regulatory requirements of the IPHS, the government of plans to spend a whopping Rs.1062 Crore to improve the healthcare sector and its infrastructure this year.
The money is to be spent on building new hospitals and increasing the facilities that are provided by the current ones.
A wide variety of hospital projects have been set up, with many of the already present hospitals being set up for being upgraded to include new machinery, and improving upon old ones.
More District Headquarters Hospitals are also planned to be set up in a bid to help make better healthcare more accessible to the common people. The primary health care centers will also be upgraded to avoid negligent situations from arising. There is going to be an increase in skilled staff as well, so a case like Sabar’s can be avoided.
Health official, has ensured citizens of quick accomplishment and completion of all goals and projects that have been set out for this year.
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