Health issues in Manipur
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: June 16 2012 -

Shobaraj Yumlembam from the desk

We all know that maintaining sound health is mandatory in pursuing our day-to-day activities. However, quite a few paid heed to include an apple in their daily diet to keep the doctors away.

Some usually break their fast with junk foods bought from hotels or shops and neglects to do daily exercise, excusing themselves with tight schedules or so.

Most of the time, people here tend to consult a pharmacist rather than see a doctor when they fall sick. Or usually he/she does not opt for medical check up until their health start to worsen.

This could bring negative results in one's health sooner or later.

Men often say "I'm healthy. Why get a check-up?" They should keep in mind that one-third of all heart attack victims never have any warnings. Savvy?

"Men often wait until a crisis occurs before they see us," says Dr Hemant Tewari, MBBS, MD, a consultant in pulmonology and medical intensive care with Fortis Hospital, New Delhi.

It is however, considerable, in a land where huge number of issues like poverty, unemployment, bandhs, harassment, abuse, chaos, murder, rape, etc, prevails. Government hospitals and health care centers here, so to say, lack in terms of health care facilities and adequate service.

To reduce job dissatisfaction, decrease nurse workloads and increase patient safety, there should be more nurses working in hospitals per patient.

According to a law, the nurse-to-patient ratio should be 1:1 in the Operating Room and 1:2 in the Intensive Care, Critical Care, and Neonatal Intensive Care units, as well as in post-anesthesia recovery and labor and delivery.

The ratio is 1:4 in ante-partum (before delivery), post partum (after delivery), pediatric care, and in the emergency room and other specialty care units.

In general medical-surgical units (regular hospital units), the ratio is 1:5. Contrary to the law, the ratio is one nurse for over fifty patients in our country, at present.

More often than not, we witness medical related, annoying or horrifying news in such hospitals caused either due to negligence from doctors' side and/or lack/failure of sophisticated medical equipments.

Under the Constitution, health is a state subject. Although the state government has implemented plans and measures to control or eradicate major communicable and non-communicable diseases, medical and para-medical education combined with regulatory measures, drug control and prevention of food adulteration, Child Survival and Safe Motherhood and immunization program, increase in frequency and effectiveness of such plans and measures is indeed the need of the hour.

To achieve social development through improvement of health status the government should give special focus on underprivileged population while improving access to Health, Family Welfare and Nutrition programs. To encourage better health and lifestyle, sports events, competitions, tournaments, etc, should be organized.

Playgrounds, swimming pools, gymnasiums, etc, should be maintained properly from time to time. Only then, we can look forward to realization of the dream, "Health for all".