Punjab Government’s Decision to handover government hospitals to private sector condemned

Alliance of Doctors for Ethical Healthcare (ADEH) demands its revocation Ludhiana, January 21, 2019: The Alliance of Doctors for Ethical Healthcare (ADEH) has strongly assailed the Punjab government’s decision to hand over government’s hospitals to the private sector along with the building and the equipment. In a statement here Dr G S Grewal- former President Punjab Medical council, Dr Arun Mitra-Vice President Indian Doctors for Peace and Development, Dr S K Prabhaker, Dr Balbir Singh Shah, Dr Gagandeep Singh and Dr Monika Dhawan said that this is a very retrograde step and total negation of the government’s promises to provide healthcare to all. The government hospitals already lack basic infrastructure and modern facilities. The government should instead increase its budget towards health and modernize the existing hospitals with new technology. By handing over the hospitals to the private sector the corporate sector will have big doles hitting the common man hard. These hospitals will become centre for the corporate sector to fleece money from the poor people. This step is selling out the government property build through public money to the private sector. The decision should be revoked immediately. It is time people should take decision to make health as political agenda in the upcoming elections and make the political parties promise to give free quality healthcare to the people. The above step of the Punjab government is in total contravention to Alma Ata declaration promising universal healthcare to its people to which India is signatory.