A study conducted by the government’s top think tank NITI Aayog has revealed that a district hospital in India has an average of 24 beds per 1 lakh population, with Bihar having the lowest six beds and Puducherry the highest at 222 beds. Huh. The study, Best Practices in the Performance of District Hospitals, was released Thursday.
The study said, “It is observed that on an average, a district hospital in India has 24 beds per 1 lakh population. Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) 2012 guidelines recommend district hospitals per 1 lakh population (2001 Census district). Based on population average) recommend maintaining at least 22 beds. This report has been prepared after an assessment of 707 hospitals in 36 states and union territories in 2018-19.
It further said, “District hospitals in India have from 1 to 408 beds per 1 lakh population. At least 22 beds per 1 lakh population were found in 217 district hospitals.”
The findings of the study are important, as it was done just before the outbreak of Covid-19. The findings mean that when the country was facing the outbreak of the pandemic, public health infrastructure, especially at the district level, was not adequate. This was experienced during the second wave of Covid-19, when the country’s health facilities were overwhelmed.
The NITI Aayog report also shows that in 15 states and union territories, the average number of beds in a district hospital was less than 22 beds per 1 lakh population, according to the IPHS 2012 guidelines.
Bihar (6), Jharkhand (9), Telangana (10), Uttar Pradesh (13), Haryana (13), Maharashtra (14), Jammu and Kashmir (17), Assam (18), Andhra Pradesh (18), Punjab (18), Gujarat (19), Rajasthan (19), West Bengal (19), Chhattisgarh (20) and Madhya Pradesh (20)
The average number of beds per lakh population in a district hospital was higher than the figure of 22 beds per lakh population in 21 states and union territories, including Puducherry (222), A and N Islands (200), Ladakh (150). , Arunachal Pradesh (102), Daman and Diu (102), Lakshadweep (78), Sikkim (70), Mizoram (63), Delhi (59), Chandigarh (57), Meghalaya (52), Nagaland (49), Himachal Pradesh (46), Karnataka (33), Goa (32), Tripura (30), Manipur (24), Uttarakhand (24), Kerala (22), Odisha (22) and Tamil Nadu (22).
The report was launched in the presence of NITI Aayog member Dr. VK Paul, CEO Amitabh Kant, Dr. Roderico Ofrin, WHO representative in India and other senior officials.
“In all, 75 district hospital beds across 24 states and union territories, ranging from availability of medical and paramedical staff, core health and diagnostic testing services to bed occupancy rates and number of surgeries per surgeon, are on indicators like this,” an official statement said. Has emerged as the top performer.”
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