Healthcare industry body NATHEALTH has urged the government to allocate funds to introduce medical education programmes that can address the shortage of skilled healthcare manpower in the country. As part of its Budget wishlist, it also sought development of hospitals in smaller towns with adequate infrastructure to take care of patient needs.
NATHEALTH Senior Vice President Harsh Mahajan said ‘in the aftermath of COVID, it is imperative to build infrastructural capabilities so that people can access quality and critical healthcare services. The pandemic has made us realise the need of equipping hospitals in tier 2 and 3 towns with adequate infrastructure such as diagnosis centres, ventilators and oxygen plants through increased budget outlay and greater investments.’ He said this will also add up in creating employment opportunities.
Besides, he said the sector has not been able to derive the benefits of the GST transition. He said in fact, the embedded taxes in the sector have increased in the post-GST regime compared to pre-GST scenario. Therefore, he said it is imperative to rationalise GST to unlock embedded credit trapped in the healthcare value chain.
