A study on healthcare infrastructure by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) and Hosmac, a healthcare consultant, has shockingly revealed that India does not even have a single hospital bed to cater to 1,000 people.
India barely has 0.9 bed per 1,000 people.
According to the study, India falls behind most nations in the number of hospital beds per 1,000 population. This, despite having a higher number of hospital beds when compared to other countries.
The study was conducted on seven countries — India, China, Brazil, Singapore, United Arabs Emirates, the United States of America and United Kingdom — with respect to healthcare infrastructure, healthcare manpower, medical equipment and healthcare education.
Among the seven countries, India ranks lowest with just 0.9 beds per 1,000 people, while UK has the highest number of beds with 3.9 beds per 1,000 people.
“Although in the last six decades, India has seen significant achievements in terms of increased life expectancy to reduced infant mortality, India’s healthcare indicators are dismal, when compared to the global average of bed to population, doctors to population, doctors to bed or doctors to nurse ratio,” said Anjan Bose, chairman of Ficci, health services committee.