Skip to content
Wednesday,  March 22, 2023       Ashburn
Subscribe to ForumIAS
March 22, 2023 | Subscribe
ForumIAS Blog
ForumIAS Blog
ForumIAS Blog
  • Current Affairs
    • Current Affairs- Main
    • Subject-Wise News
      • History News
      • Polity News
      • Economy News
      • Environment News
      • IR News
      • Society News
      • Disaster News
      • Social issues News
      • Geography News
      • Security News
      • S&T News
      • Agriculture News
    • Factly for Prelims
    • Weekly Current Affairs
      • Weekly Current Affairs Highlights
      • Weekly Current Affairs Compilations
    • Monthly Current Affairs
  • Prelims
    • Prelims 2023 Study Material- Learn with ForumIAS
    • Prelims Capsules 2021
    • Prelims 2021 Material
    • Prelims Guidance
      • UPSC Booklist
      • Story of Minal Karanwal
      • How To Clear Civil Services
      • Abhishesk Surana Rank 10
    • Prelims Previous Year’s Questions
      • UPSC prelims question paper
      • Subject-wise PYQs
    • Prelims Question Bank
    • Static Material for Prelims
      • Polity Guide
      • Environment Guide
      • Economy Guide
    • Factly Current Affairs
      • All Factly Articles
      • Factly-Indian Economy
      • Factly-Environment
      • Factly-IR
      • Factly-Science and Technology
      • Factly-Bills and Acts
      • Factly-Schemes and Programs
    • Important CA Topics
  • Buy IAS Books
  • Free Daily Initiatives
    • 7PM Editorial
    • Must Read News Articles
    • 9 PM Current Affair Brief
    • Prelims Marathon
    • Mains Marathon
    • 10 PM Daily Quiz
    • Factly for UPSC Prelims
    • 9 PM Articles List
    • Factly Articles List
  • PYQs and Ques. Bank
    • Prelims/Mains PYQs
    • Mains Question Bank
      • Mains Question Bank and Answers-1
      • Mains Question Bank and Answers-2
      • Mains Question Bank and Answers-3
    • UPSC Mains PYQs- Paperwise
      • UPSC PYQs (GS-1 )
      • UPSC PYQs (GS-2)
      • UPSC PYQs (GS-3)
    • UPSC Prelims PYQs- Subjectwise
      • Ancient/Medieval History
      • Art & Culture
      • Economy
      • Environment
      • Geography
      • International Relation
      • Modern History
      • Polity
      • S&T
      • Social and Schemes
    • Prelims Question Bank
    • Indian Economy Quiz/MCQs bank
  • Interview
    • Interview – Main Page
    • Interview Process
    • Myths About Interview
    • Board Members Profile
    • Interview Transcripts
    • Common Questions
      • Hobby Based Question
      • Sports Based Question
      • State Based Question
    • Important articles
  • Downloads
    • EPIC/Factly magazine
    • Weekly Current Affairs PDF For UPSC
    • Monthly Current Affairs For UPSC PDF Download
    • Compilation of Initiatives
    • Official Answer Key
    • UPSC Syllabus
      • UPSC Prelims Syllabus
      • UPSC Mains Syllabus
    • UPSC Previous Year Papers
      • Prelims Paper
      • Mains Paper
    • Economic Survey 20-21
  • Toppers
    • Toppers Strategy
      • Prelims Strategy
      • Mains Strategy
      • Interview Strategy
    • Topper’s Testimonials and Test Copies
    • Motivation
      • Motivation Articles
      • Articles by Newayn
  • Miscellaneous
    • Careers
    • Announcement
    • Contact Us

Gorakhpur Hospital Tragedy: insufficient oxygen supply not the sole reason

Posted on August 14th, 2017 Last modified on August 30th, 2017 CommentsViews : 1.3k

Context:

  • The death of over 30 children within a span of 48 hours at the government-run Baba Raghav Das (BRD) Medical College hospital in Gorakhpur, Uttar pradesh, isn’t merely about oxygen cylinders and unpaid bills but it is a consequence of many deeper problems.

The tragedy:

  • 60 deaths have been reported in the children’s department of the Baba Raghav Das (BRD) Medical College hospital in Gorakhpur from August 7th to 11th, 2017.
  • Infections and possible disruption of oxygen supply in the paediatrics ward are being blamed for the death
  • Reports says that the company that supplied the oxygen had previously issued notice to the hospital on large unpaid bills but only a high-level judicial inquiry will have credibility.
  • However, the hospital and district administration have rejected the contention that inadequate oxygen supply led to the tragedy.
  • Among ailments, Japanese encephalitis is claimed to be the major reason for the tragedy.

Present medical care in Uttar Pradesh:

  1. The Centre has a vaccination programme in place and a stated commitment to build paediatric intensive care units in priority districts.
  2. The Uttar Pradesh state government runs government medical colleges at Agra, Allahabad, Gorakhpur, Jhansi, Kanpur and Meerut besides a medical university as well as a super-specialty hospital at Lucknow; plans are afoot to develop four more super-specialty hospitals in various locations.
  3. The Department of Medical, Health and Family Welfare of the state government was set up in 1921 and through its ‘Provincial Medical and Health Services’ it has been responsible for provided related services to even the remotest rural areas in the densely populated state.
  • Almost half of the districts in Uttar Pradesh are covered by Public-Private Partnership (PPP) programs implemented by non-profit organizations supported ably by state agencies and The United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
  • These projects are based on the social franchisee method, the aim being to create sustainable PPP models that can reach out to the marginalized populations through a network of franchised hospitals that offer quality medical services across all areas.
  1. Effective medical care in meeting emergency needs and requirements of the people, including maternal healthcare and child care services are at the core of many programs run in government hospitals in the state.

The deeper problems:

Despite the existing medical facilities and healthcare infrastructure what proved to be largely inadequate to prevent the death of he children? The reasons are as follows:

  1. Gorkhapur is the worst-affected region in the state due to encephalitis. Although vaccines are available, there is no such vaccine for checking Acute Encephalitis Syndrome.
  • Since 2012, 3,000 children suffering from Japanese Encephalitis have reportedly died at BRD Hospital.
  • Encephalitis is correlated with expansion of irrigation and construction of dams four decades ago, resulting in an increase in disease-transmitting mosquitoes.
  1. India’s abysmally low public spending on healthcare also tops the list of drawbacks.
  • The infant mortality rate in India in 2015 was 38, according to the World Bank—far better than the 165 in 1960 but lagging comparable countries such as Bangladesh (31), Indonesia (23) and Sri Lanka (08).
  • And the situation in even worse in some large states such as Uttar Pradesh, where around 50 out of every 1,000 children die before they reach the age of five.
  1. Another problem with India’s healthcare system is acute manpower shortage.
  • The country has only about one doctor for every 1,700 patients whereas the World Health Organization (WHO) prescribes at least one for every 1,000 patients.
  • In other words, there is a shortage of about 500,000 doctors.
  1. The fourth problem is that a vast majority of people do not have health insurance in a country.
  • India’s inability to find a workable model for taxation or insurance has left its poor particularly vulnerable.

Suggestions:

  • The Medical Council of India (MCI) will have to reform the entire medical education system if these gaps of medical facilities have to be filled.
  • In the meantime, more healthcare providers need to be brought into the system, including nurses, optometrists, anaesthetists and AYUSH (ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, unani, siddha and homoeopathy) workers.
  • Nurses especially can and should be empowered so that they can take off some of the load from physicians.
  • The Indian Council of Medical Research needs to launch a special commission for U.P., treating it as a public health emergency.
  • Such a system should be non-commercial and regulated to contain costs, giving everyone affordable access to doctors, diagnostics and treatment.
Print Friendly and PDF
Published August 14, 2017By ForumIAS
Categorized as NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL & SOCIAL

Post navigation

Previous post

Benchmark for science: Customized human embryos for a healthy life

Next post

Need for the US to wind down war talk with North Korea

Buy IAS Books

  1. Click here to Buy IAS Books →

Prelims 2022 Study Material

  1. Prelims 2022 Study Material- Learn with ForumIAS →

Testimonials and MGP Copies

  • [Download] – KRITIKA SHUKLA AIR 123 (UPSC CSE 2021) – MGP Test Copies + Testimonial
  • [Download] – Vivek Tiwari AIR 164 (UPSC CSE 2021) – MGP Test Copies + Testimonial
  • [Download] – Utsav Pandey AIR 240 (UPSC CSE 2021) – MGP Test Copies + Testimonial
  • Shraddha Gome IAS Rank 60 (UPSC CSE 2021) – Testimonial
  • Rahul Raiya CSE Rank 359 (UPSC CSE 2021) – Testimonial

Most Popular Articles

  1. How to crack IAS in first attempt →
  2. IAS Rank 1 Anudeep D Testimony & Copies →
  3. Fighting Depression in Times of UPSC Preparation ( & Corona ) →

Strategy And Motivation :

  • Toppers Strategy to Clear CSE
  • Sachin Gupta Rank 3 CSE 2017
  • Rajarshi Shah Rank 81 CSE 2017
  • Life at LBSNAA
  • Rank 54 CSE 2018
  • Suman Sourav Mohanty Rank 9 CSE 2016
  • Sumit Rai Rank 54 CSE 2018
  • Political Science Optional Strategy
  • Avoid Exhausting Attempts in CSE

Preparation Guides

  • Indian Forest Service Preparation Guide
  • Myths about IAS
  • Guide : How to crack IAS without exhauting attempts
  • History | Art and Culture – Updates and News
  • Polity and governance – News and Updates
  • Environment – News and Updates
  • Economy – News and Updates
  • Agriculture – News and Updates
  • Social Issues – News and Updates
  • International Relations – News and Updates
  • Geography – News and Updates
  • Security – News and Updates
  • Disaster Management- News and Updates
  • Science & Tech. – News and Updates
About ForumIAS

ForumIAS is India’s leading Online website for UPSC IAS Exam Online Preparation and guidance. At ForumIAS, we have a dream. Our dream is to make its members achieve their IAS dream. Today thousands of aspirants have joined the elite services such as IAS, IPS, IFS, IRS and other central and state services with the right inputs provided by ForumIAS. Take a look at our IAS Toppers

Guides by ForumIAS

Polity | Environment | Economy | IFoS Preparation Guide | Crack IAS in first Attempt | Interview Preparation Guide

About

  • About Us
  • Work With Us
  • Our Mission
  • Credits
  • Team
  • Privacy Policy

Reach Us

  • Queries: ravi@forumias.com
  • Academy Support: helpdesk@forumias.academy
  • Admissions Enquiry: admissions@forumias.academy

Our Initiatives

  • Must Read News Articles
  • Prelims Marathon
  • Mains Marathon
  • Toppers Interview
  • Preparation Strategy
  • 9 PM BRIEF
  • Buy IAS Books

Site Links

  • Discussion Forum
  • ForumIAS Academy
  • Blog
  • Portal ( Deprecated )
  • FAQ

Visit Us At

Forum Learning Centers

#Delhi - 19, Pusa Road, 2nd Floor, IAPL House, Opposite Metro Pillar 95-96, Karol Bagh, New Delhi-110005, View Google Map Location

#Patna - 2nd floor, AG Palace, E Boring Canal Rd, Patna, Bihar 800001, View Google Map Location

#Hyderabad - 1st Floor, SM Plaza, RTC X Rd, Indira Park Road, Jawahar Nagar, Hyderabad, Telangana 500020, View Google Map Location

CIN No.: U80904DL2018PTC338126 | GST No.: 07AADCF4830D1Z0

© ForumIAS Blog. Designed & Developed by Stellar Digital Pvt. Ltd.Privacy & Terms of Use