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Shortage of Doctors and Nurses in India
Why is it in the news
- According to the report by the U.S.-based Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP), India has a shortage of an estimated 600,000 doctors and 2 million nurses.
- Alos, the scientists found that the lack of staff who are properly trained in administering antibiotics is preventing patients from accessing live-saving drugs.
More in the news
Findings of the Study:
- Even when antibiotics are available, patients are often unable to afford them.
- In India, 65% of health expenditure is out-of-pocket, and such expenditures push some 57 million people into poverty each year.
- Mortality: The majority of the world’s annual 5.7 million antibiotic-treatable deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.
- Ratio: In India, there is one government doctor for every 10,189 people (WHO recommends a ratio of 1:1,000), or there is a deficit of 600,000 doctors, and the nurse:patient ratio is 1:483, implying a shortage of two million nurses.
- Antibiotic: even after the discovery of a new antibiotic, regulatory hurdles and substandard health facilities delay or altogether prevent widespread market entry and drug availability.
- Worldwide, the irrational use of antibiotics and poor antimicrobial stewardship lead to treatment failure and propagate the spread of drug resistance which, in turn, further narrows the available array of effective antibiotics.
Source
The Hindu.