“Increased budgetary allocation for the health sector is the need of the hour in the Covid scenario, as currently, the country is spending only 1.28 per cent GDP on the health sector. This needs to be drastically improved,” said Indu Bushan, Chief Executive Officer, Ayushman Bharat -PMJAY and National Health Authority.

He was delivering the keynote address at a webinar organised by FICCI Kerala State Council on the ‘impacts of Covid-19 on the private health sector’.

He said private health sector needs to be allotted more roles in the fight against Covid-19. Private hospitals should take advantage of opportunities through innovative methods such as telemedicine and virtual consultation. The way Kerala has fought against containing the virus could serve as a case study in the future, he added.

The Ayush sector can play an important role in augmenting the immunity of persons recovering from Covid and in enhancing the immunity of those vulnerable, said Sharmila Mary Joseph, secretary, Ayush.

The webinar called for the Central and State governments to make the most of the potential of the private health sector in the fight against Covid-19, as the private health sector has all along played a key role in providing quality health system to the people of Kerala.

M.I. Sahadulla, Co-Chairman, FICCI Kerala State Council, pointed out that the private health care sector and particularly hospitals are going through the worst crisis in terms of financial liquidity, resource crunch and it would take many months for the industry to be back on track and sought the support of government for the various representations submitted highlighting the plight of the industry.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW