Previous Year Question
Consider the following statements:
Statement-I: India’s public-sector healthcare system largely focuses on curative care with limited preventive, promotive and rehabilitative care.
Statement-II: Under India’s decentralised approach to healthcare delivery, the States are primarily responsible for organising health services.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I
Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I
Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect
Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct
Correct Answer: B
Detailed Solution
Statement-I is correct. India’s traditional public-health system has devoted a substantial share of its attention and resources to the diagnosis and treatment of disease after its occurrence, i.e. curative care. Preventive, health-promoting and post-treatment rehabilitation services have historically received relatively limited attention and resources.
The four major dimensions of healthcare are:
Preventive care: vaccination, screening, sanitation and disease prevention.
Promotive care: nutrition, exercise and promotion of healthy lifestyles.
Curative care: diagnosis, medicines, treatment and surgery.
Rehabilitative care: restoration of functioning after illness, injury or disability.
The National Health Policy, 2017 sought to correct this imbalance by emphasising primary healthcare, prevention and health promotion. Comprehensive primary-care services were subsequently expanded through Health and Wellness Centres.
Statement-II is also correct. Entry 6 of the State List in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution covers public health and sanitation, hospitals and dispensaries. States are therefore primarily responsible for organising hospitals, health centres, health personnel and state-level health services.
The Union Government frames national policies, implements national programmes and provides technical and financial assistance to States. Both levels of government participate, but direct organisation of health services is primarily a State responsibility.
Statement-II does not correctly explain Statement-I. State responsibility for organising healthcare is a constitutional and administrative arrangement. It does not by itself explain the greater emphasis on curative care. The curative orientation is influenced by factors such as financing patterns, hospital-centred delivery, human-resource availability, disease burden and the capacity of primary healthcare institutions.