Seemingly serious
The government seems to have learned some lessons from the past, as this time over, it is seriously contemplating to implement the already submitted healthcare policy-2018, apparently, in a form which will not see any hurdles when it comes to the implementation of the same.
The state has witnessed several policy changes in the past, however, to the utter dismay, such changes were only limited to the paper and never saw the light of the day. However, this time over the government seems quite serious in bringing some changes in case of healthcare, by bringing in a comprehensive healthcare policy—already submitted by the health department—by tailoring it to perfection.
According to the NITI Aayog’s recent report on healthcare, the state of J&K has figured among top-performing states. The state also bagged the award of best-performing state in the health sector a few days ago, but the state has been performing without a comprehensive healthcare policy thus far, which has been hindering the further progress of the healthcare sector, especially in rural areas.
The state healthcare according to government figures may be performing well, but the absence of a foundational policy on the healthcare surely raises questions on its functioning, when there is no proper mechanism in place to keep a check on various other dimensions of the healthcare system.
There are some aspects of the submitted policy, the government says, have been already implemented, however, it is considering those elements which are implementable on the ground. While the government seems to indulge in pick and choose—by the argument of what is implementable and what not—it may drop certain aspects of the policy which are crucial for the betterment of the healthcare system in the state.
The government, just last month, came out with a comprehensive Drug De-Addiction Policy to address the menace of drugs and subsequent treatment and rehabilitation of those who get affected. A nice step indeed, however, the policy promises heavens and stars when it comes to the implementation on the ground.
Further, the policy has engaged cops in two committees that will be formed by virtue of the framed policy. One will overlook the policy and will suggest timely changes, while as the second one will see the ground implementation.
Engaging cops, especially to see the policy implementation is seen as counterproductive. While their role should have been kept limited to keep a check on the transport and availability of drugs, there seemingly is no role for them in keeping a check on the implementation of the policy. Similar, there are several lacunae in the policy which shall be approved by the government hopefully next month.
All in all, the government shall not tailor the upcoming healthcare policy in a way that it will promise stars and will take us nowhere. It can promise us stars, but it shall be able to at least make us hit the moon.
KV Network
