Private or government hospital: which one would you prefer?

Private or government hospital: which one would you prefer?

Introduction:

The special treatments, effortlessness, cleanliness, and advanced facilities provided in private hospitals across the country make us rush to them in cases of simple or serious illness. We cannot deny that the level of comfort a patient and his caretakers receive in private hospitals is far advanced in comparison to what we find in government run hospitals. However, you will be shocked to know that in a metro city like Kolkata where numerous private hospitals have sprung, it’s still only the two government hospitals in the city -SSKM and RG Kar -that have a burn unit. Some of the private hospitals have burn treatment unit but they are equipped with lesser facilities that makes them treat only patients with 50% burn. In serious cases, the patient has to be carried to the government hospital. That makes us think whether it is private hospital or the government ones that are more reliable.

Private hospitals are better:

1.Better equipped: Since private hospitals are aided by a group of people who would not risk their reputation in the business, they ensure better equipping of the hospital facilities. You never have to rush around in private hospitals for tests and reports since the staff takes care of these things. Good quality is ensured, making treatment easier and more advanced.

2. Individual care: In private hospitals, patients are individually taken care of in the most specialized way whereas in government hospitals, the kind of care allotted to patients is more generic. If you have ever visited the general ward in a government hospital, you will know that the condition of patients already suffering from an ailment is pathetic.

3. Hygiene: Cleanliness and hygiene is better maintained in private hospitals. It is highly important that hospitals needs to be clean and regularly disinfected to prevent contagion to other patients and the visitors. This is one of the most lacking part in government hospitals where even the patient’s wards are in the same condition as the lavatory area of the hospital. This happens to be one of the major reasons why most people prefer private hospitals.

4. Vigilance: Private hospitals are more secure for individuals since patients are always under the observation of specialists. There are more security measure as well such as CCTV cameras and guards. The number of babies stolen or exchanged due to gender differences from the maternity wards of government hospitals is disturbingly high.

Government hospitals are better:

1. Expenses: The cost of treatment in government hospitals is very low in comparison to the bills of a private hospital. The government hospitals are funded entirely by the government and hence there are even free treatment facilities to poor families. Apart from these aids, the government also provides monetary help to patients of poor families towards their good health through government hospitals.

2. Treatment to complex ailments: The government hospitals are better equipped to deal with serious and critical conditions like severely burnt cases. In these cases when the patients rush to private hospitals in order to get better individual care, they simply refuse to take the patient in and they have to be rushed to government hospitals immediately. Government hospitals have specialists to take care of most of the severe ailments.

Conclusion:

Government aids hospitals to provide better care and cost effective treatment to patients who could not afford to pay the bills of private hospitals. But the poor conditions of government hospitals, the negligence of doctors there, lack of beds, lack of hygiene makes it worse and the patient’s family is nearly afraid of admitting their patients in government hospitals. The government must take measures to ensure that the hospitals not only provide cost effective treatment but also provide better care and facilities to the ailing patients.