RBSE Class 7 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 2 Role of the Government in Health

These comprehensive RBSE Class 7 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 2 Role of the Government in Health will give a brief overview of all the concepts.

RBSE Class 7 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 2 Role of the Government in Health

→ What is health ?
•    Meaning of health-Health means our ability to remain free of illness and injuries.
•    Apart from disease, we need to think of other factors that affect our health. For example—clean drinking water, pollution free environment, adequate food to eat, or have to live in cramped conditions, they will be prone to illness.

→ Healthcare in India :

• India has a large number of doctors, dispensaries and hospitals.
• The country also has considerable experience and knowledge in running a public healthcare system.
• There has been a phenomenal advancement in medical sciences whereby many new technologies and treatment procedures are available in the country.
• With all the above positive developments we are not able to provide proper healthcare facilities to people.

→ Public and private health care services
We can roughly divide up various health care facilities in two categories :
(a) Public health services, and
(b) Private health facilities.

(a) Public health services:
I. The public health service is a chain of health centres and hospitals run by the government. They are linked together so that they cover both rural and urban areas.

II. The health service is called ‘public’ because of following reasons :
(a) In order to fulfil its commitment of providing health care to all citizens, ' the government has established these hospitals and health centres.
(b) The resources needed to run these services are obtained from the money that we, the public, pay to the government as taxes. Hence, such facilities are meant for everyone.
(c) One of the most important aspects of the public health system is that it is meant to provide quality health care services either free or at a low cost.
(d) According to the constitution, providing health services to all is the primary duty of the government.
    
(b) Private health facilities:
(a) There is a wide range of private health facilities that exist in our country.
(b) Private health facilities are not owned or controlled by the government. 
(c) In private facilities, patients have to pay a lot of money for every service that they use.

→ Healthcare and equality : Is adequate healthcare available to all ?

• In India, we face a situation where private services are increasing but public services are not. What is then available to people are mainly private services.
• These are concentrated in urban areas. The cost of these services is rather high. Medicines are expensive. Many people cannot afford them or have to borrow money when there is an illness in the family.
• Hence, even for those whom one might not think as being poor, medical expenses cause hardship.

→ What can he done: It is the responsibility of the government to provide quality healthcare services to all its citizens especially the poor and the disadvantaged. The example of the Government of Kerala and Costa Rica are before them.