Public health system in India

The public health system in India comprises a set of state-owned health care facilities funded and controlled by the government of India. Some of these are controlled by agencies of the central government while some are controlled by the governments of the states of India. The governmental ministry which controls the central government interests in these institutions is the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. Governmental spending on health care in India is exclusively this system, hence most of the treatments in these institutions are either fully or partially subsidised.

Facilities

The facilities are:

• All India Institutes of Medical Sciences owned and controlled by the central government. These are referral hospitals with specialized facilities. All India institutes presently functional are All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, AIIMS Bhopal,^[1] AIIMS Bhubaneshwar, AIIMS Jodhpur, AIIMS Raipur, and AIIMS Rishikesh.
• Regional Cancer Centres are cancer care hospitals and research institutes controlled jointly by the central and the respective state governments.
• Government Medical Colleges owned and controlled by the respective state governments. These are referral hospitals.
• District Hospitals or General Hospitals: Controlled by the respective state governments and serving the respective districts (administrative divisions in India).
• Taluk hospitals: Taluk level hospitals controlled by the respective state governments and serving the respective taluks (administrative divisions in India, and smaller than districts).
• Community Health Centre CHCs: Community Health Centres are available is basic health unit in the urban areas.
• Primary Health Centres: The basic units with the most basic facilities, and especially serving rural India, generally at the level of a panchayat.^[2]
• Sub-centers - The most basic units of health in villages; first point of contact between villagers and public health care system in India.

References