The healthcare industry has welcomed the package announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for scaling up the health infrastructure in the country.

Appreciating the government’s efforts to boost the most critical sector in the current scenario, Gurpreet Sandhu, President, Council for Healthcare & Pharma, told BusinessLine that the package of ₹50,000 crore for the sector has come as a huge relief in view of devastating second wave of Covid-19 pandemic.

“A guaranteed coverage of 50 per cent for expansion of health-related projects and 75 per cent for new projects has shown the government’s commitment towards improving the present battered state of affairs. Since the second wave has exposed the condition of the healthcare system, it was the need of the hour to scale up the medical infrastructure,” he added.

Meanwhile, he also stated that an additional ₹23,220 crore for the public health sector, focussing on short-term emergency preparedness with an emphasis on children and paediatric care/paediatric beds will surely help the sector get ready for another impending wave of the pandemic.

“One thing that the sector faced during the second wave was the shortage of medical staff and funding for short-term HR augmentation through medical students and nursing students will give the existing medical staff some breathing space,” Sandhu further added.

A costly affair

Investment in modern equipment, including on-site oxygen gas generation systems, can be a costly affair. Hospitals and nursing homes in urban and semi-urban India will benefit from direct financial support measures provided by the government. Reliable supply of oxygen through an on-site oxygen generator will alleviate the woes experienced all over India during the ongoing second wave and provide independence to hospitals for years to come, said Siddharth Rastogi, Executive Director, MVS Engineering Pvt. Ltd.

“The focus on tier-II and -III cities is particularly satisfying, which would go a long way in addressing the big city-small town healthcare gap in the country. The 50 per cent guaranteed coverage for aspirational districts for both new and expansion projects is particularly noteworthy in this regard.

At the same time, the considerable allocation to child and paediatric care must also be appreciated. With the predictions of an even more destructive third wave, these policy stimuli would also give some momentum to health facilities and infrastructure across the country in the immediate term too,” said Ashok Patel, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Max Ventilator.

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