Kozhikode: The Union Budget has fallen short of expectations as far as the healthcare sector is concerned. There is no emphasis on primary health care. "The number of cancer cases in the country is rising at an alarming rate, but it allocated no funds for providing affordable treatment for poor patients for reducing the treatment and medicine costs. The expenses involved in early detection of cancer are very high. So are the treatment costs. Our expectation that the Budget will address this problem has fallen short," said C.N. Vijayakrishnan, chairman, MVR Cancer Centre and Research Institute (MVRCCRI).
"However, it has given a thrust to improving the healthcare situation in the country by addressing the requirement to have more number of doctors and to help people at village-level to access quality medical care," he said. Another laudable announcement, he feels, is the move to create digital villages so that the villagers can access telemedicine and education. It will help patients in remote locations to access quality medical care. "At MVRCCRI, we have already taken measures to reach out to the patients all over the state through telemedicine centres set up by tying up with cooperative hospitals," he added.
