India unveiled the much-awaited Union Budget 2023, earlier in February, and it certainly has offered a major boost for the healthcare industry. The human population in India has been on a persistent rise over the last decade and has subsequently burdened the nursing care industry with immense demand.
How you might ask? Well, the World Health Organisation demanded that countries must have at least a 1000:3 population-to-nursing personnel ratio.
However, at present, India is stuck at 1.7 nursing personnel per 1000 population, which is nowhere near the mandated ratio. Of course, it would be highly unfair to point fingers at anyone, considering India is the second most populated country on Earth with 1.38 billion as opposed to the table toppers, China, with 1.5 billion.
Hence, India had desperately been seeking ways to add 4 million more nurses to the tally in the hopes of adhering to the WHO’s demands. It did seem a bit impractical at first, as, accomplishing such a feat required massive financial investment from the government.
However, thankfully, the latest budget talks have helped the entire medical industry heave a major sigh of relief. Nirmala Sitaraman, the Finance Minister of India, announced that the government would be installing a total of 157 nursing colleges across the country.
Before going any further, we’d like to elaborate on the impact this growing nursing personnel demand could have had on the senior care industry.
High Demand for Nurses in the Elderly Care Industry
Nurses are quite literally the backbone of the elderly, with their calm and composed services persistently saving millions of seniors across the world.
However, it was all on the verge of going out of hand; In 2021, India made an alarming statement, confessing that there would be a 41% increase in the senior population over the succeeding decade. This announcement came out at the worst possible time, with the nursing demand, too, at its peak.
Imagine the healthcare industry having to keep its eyes on 194 million senior citizens with an insufficient number of nurses. Sounds chaotic, doesn’t it? Yes, it certainly would’ve led to chaos. But, acknowledging this scare, the Indian government played a smart move by deciding to open up colleges, sufficient enough to bring the demand under control.
This particular nursing college plan will have itself pulled apart into three phases, with each of them focusing on certain states. In phase-1, the government will look to establish a total of 58 colleges across 20 states – Andaman and Nicobar Island, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhatisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarkhand, and West Bengal.
Then comes phase-2, which is likely to witness the government establishing 24 colleges across 8 states – Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Sikkim.
Finally, the goal of phase-3 is to set up 75 medical colleges in 18 states, including several states in South India – Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhatisgarh, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Ladakh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
In Tamil Nadu, the nursing colleges will most probably be set up in Tiruppur, Nilgiris, Ramanathapuram, Namakkal, Dindigul, Virudhunagar, Krishnagiri, Tiruvallur, Nagapattinam, Ariyalur and Kallakurichi.
Diving deeper into this development, the Health Ministry affirmed that the Indian government has invested around 17,691 crore rupees toward this incredible program. But, the biggest question is, will these desperate efforts ultimately pay off? Only time will tell.
Avail Athulya Home Care for supreme senior care services
Indeed, a lot of senior care facilities are rapidly filling up and the entire elderly care industry is beginning to feel the heat. Hence, if you’re seeking the best solution for your dependent senior parents or friends, we’d suggest Athulya Home Healthcare. They are well-known across India for their top-quality medical services for senior citizens in the comfort of their homes.
With a wide variety of services to offer, this could your best chance to get your parents back on their feet and return to normalcy. Hence, to know more, reach out to Athulya’s official website – Athulya Home Healthcare.
