CBSE Class 7 Political Science (Civics) Chapter 2 Notes - Role of the Government in Health

Good health is a person’s ability to stay free from illness and to avoid injuries. Our health is affected by diseases and other factors like dullness, inactiveness, or anxiety.

Health Care in India

Health care facilities such as health centres, hospitals, laboratories for testing, ambulance services, and blood banks are a critical need for every country. They help in preventing and treating illnesses. These facilities are established to provide adequate care and health care services to patients. Health workers, nurses, qualified doctors, and other health professionals are the backbone of health care facilities. They are trained to diagnose, advise, and treat illnesses.

India has a large number of doctors, clinics, and hospitals. The public health care system is a system of hospitals and health centres run by the government. It has the ability to look after the health of a large section of its population scattered over hundreds of thousands of villages. However, even after having public healthcare systems, the government is not able to provide proper healthcare facilities to people.

Health Care Under the Constitution of India

According to the Constitution of India, access to health care is a part of our fundamental rights. Health care comes under the Right to Life given to every citizen and it is the primary duty of the government to safeguard this right. The government must ensure the welfare of the people and must provide health care facilities to all.

Health care facilities can be classified into 2 categories:

• Public Health Services.

• Private Health Facilities.

Public Health Services

Public health services include the health centres and hospitals run by the government. These centres are linked together to cover both rural and urban areas. The village-level health centres have a nurse and a village health worker who are both trained in dealing with common illnesses. They work under the supervision of doctors at the Primary Health Centre (PHC). These village-level centres cover many villages. At the district level health care centres, there is a District Hospital to supervise all the village level health centres. There are many government hospitals and specialized government hospitals in large cities.

Public health services are called ‘public’ because:

• Public hospitals and health centres are set up by the government for the people of the country.

• Medical facilities are provided at a low cost so that everyone can avail of the treatment.

• The function of public health service is to take actions to prevent the spread of diseases like TB, malaria, jaundice, cholera, diarrhoea, dengue, chikungunya, etc.

Private Health Facilities

Private health facilities include hospitals and nursing homes that are privately owned and not owned or controlled by the government. Patients have to pay a lot of money for every service that they use in private health facilities.

Adequate Health Care for All: Need of the Hour

There is a rise in the number of private health services in India but there has been no increase in public health care facilities. This makes people approach private services where the cost of the services is very high. At some private health care services, malpractices are followed to earn more money. For the middle-class population and the poor of the country, medical expenses increase their hardships. The high cost of private health care services makes the situation worse for them.

The Role of Government in Health Care

It is the primary responsibility of the government to ensure that all its citizens receive quality healthcare services, especially the poor and the disadvantaged sections of the society. It must work towards improving public health facilities and basic amenities. This will lead to an improvement in the health situation of the country.