India has the ninth-largest economy in the world by nominal
GDP and the third-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP) [1] and despite this
much of India still remains as a third world country. Over October half
term I had the experience of visiting Goa, India for two weeks, the trip was
predominantly to visit family. However, whilst I was there I was able to
witness the huge cultural
difference of India compared to the UK, not only in attitudes towards lifestyle
and people, but also a particular difference in attitude and approach to
healthcare.
Unlike the UK healthcare is not free at point of use in India (i.e. there is no NHS), and as a consequence of this the attitudes to
healthcare are very different, below I will outline some key observations I
witnessed whilst in India:
·
I noticed that many of the people who were
begging and living on the streets often had a limb missing or some form of
disability. I believe that this shows how many of the poorest in India
are unable to afford healthcare, and often they are those who are most in need.
·
One huge contrast to me, which actually shocked
me significantly, was the ease of buying medicines from a pharmacist that would
require a prescription from a healthcare professional in the UK. I also say pharmacist
very loosely, since the pharmacies themselves were normally a shack on the side
of the road, and upon entering you would tell the pharmacist your symptoms, and
they would return with an antibiotic or other medicine, at an extremely cheap
price. For example, whilst in India I contracted the ‘delhi belly’ and my mum
was able to buy medication for me at 30 rupies, which is about 30p. Whether the
ease of gaining prescription medication is a good thing or not is up for
debate. It certainly helps fuel the misuse of antibiotics and hence the
antibiotic crisis. However, having said that I know that the day I woke up
feeling extremely ill, I was very thankful of the ease of access to medication.
·
The final contrast I noticed was the public
health campaigns, in particular the appeal regarding smoking. I would spend
much of my afternoon, when the heat was unbearable, watching a movie, and I
noticed that if within that movie a character was smoking, then a banner would
come across the screen declaring that smoking was dangerous. I cannot remember
the exact wording, but the banner in short explained how it can lead to serious
health complications and even death.
Overall it is quite easy to say that the healthcare in India
is extremely different to the UK, and it made me appreciate how fortunate I am
to have a solid healthcare system in the UK. The NHS allows society to gain
healthcare whatever your income, and to me it the fact that it is free at point
of use is extremely important and extremely beneficial. I also think that the
fact in India one can obtain any medication over the counter at such ease is a
problem, as it gives rise to misuse, and of course resistance, which is
becoming a huge issue in global healthcare. The trip itself was enlightening,
and showed me just how different the approach to healthcare is for different
countries.
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