Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu today emphasised the need to urgently address the problem of manpower shortage in the medical profession, highlighted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Interacting with medical students and faculty after inaugurating new units and state-of-the-art equipment at Siddhartha Medical College, Vijayawada, the Vice President said the health infrastructure must be expanded at the primary, secondary and tertiary level.

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He appreciated the launch of Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission which seeks to strengthen the critical healthcare network from village to the national level in the next four to five years.

It is a matter of happiness that India is on the path to achieve the WHO-recommended ratio of one doctor per 1,000 people by 2024, he said.

Ruing that the medical profession has become increasingly commercialized over the years, he advised the budding medical graduates to lend a human touch while treating their patients.

“Medical profession is one of the noblest professions and all of you should always remain committed to the Hippocrates Oath. Never deviate from the righteous path and maintain the highest ethical and moral standards,” he said.

He said “I am glad that the Union Government has announced plans for setting up at least one medical college in every district and a network of 22 AIIMS across the country.”

While expanding health infrastructure and addressing manpower shortage, it is important to fully leverage India’s strength in the IT sector, he said.

There is a need to promote public-private partnership (PPP) in different areas, including establishing telemedicine connectivity to remote rural areas. Telemedicine will help in reducing costs and improving access.

In view of the shortage of manpower in the rural areas, he wanted making rural service mandatory before giving the first promotion to government doctors, Naidu said.

There is a need to attract more doctors to the rural areas by providing incentives and improving housing and other infrastructure

The need of the hour is to make healthcare affordable and accessible to all, the Vice-President said. In view of the high levels of out-of-pocket expenditure, it is important to increase public spending in the health sector.