Bengaluru has emerged as India’s third most equipped city in terms of health infrastructure, with 3.6 hospital beds per 1000 people, according to a report by online real estate portal Housing.com. Bengaluru has the highest number of hospital beds as compared to the other top eight cities, but scores low on air quality and municipal performance. The report titled ‘State of Healthcare in India – Indian cities through the lens of healthcare’, adds that 69% of hospital beds in the country are concentrated in urban areas.
Pune stood first in the City Health Card as it scored significantly high on parameters such as the number of beds, ease of living, water quality, adoption of digital initiatives through e-governance. Delhi-NCR ranked the lowest among eight cities due to an inadequate number of hospital beds, poor air quality and a low score on the liveability index, as per the report.
Housing.com’s City Health Card is a comparative assessment of the top eight cities including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune, based on several parameters like the number of hospital beds, air quality, water quality, liveability index, etc.
Hyderabad and Chennai are ranked five and six respectively. Hyderabad scores low on the number of hospital beds and ease of living but fared well in air quality, sanitation and solid waste management. Chennai topped air quality, but the looming water scarcity pulled down its overall rank.
In terms of states, Karnataka, Telangana and Kerala have the maximum number of beds (of public and private hospitals) per 1,000 population, while Bihar, Odisha and Chhattisgarh have the least.
According to the report, India spends the least on its healthcare and has the lowest number of beds (public hospitals) per 1,000 population (0.5). This means that only half a bed is available for 1,000 people in a public hospital in India. Even after the inclusion of private hospitals, the estimated total number of hospital beds (1.4) per 1,000 population still does not meet the benchmarks set by the major economies. Similarly, with only 0.86 doctors per 1,000 people, India has the lowest number of healthcare providers compared to other major economies where the doctor to population ratio ranges between 2-4 doctors for every 1,000 people, the report states.
“India, which is the third-largest economy in Asia, needs to significantly increase its spending on healthcare. This has been made eminently clear as the country is currently struggling to keep its people safe from the ongoing second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. As the second-most populous country in the world with over 1.3 billion people, India also has to focus on building quality healthcare infrastructure and economically develop itself in such a way that its overall infrastructure is preventive against health risks. Here, one is also forced to acknowledge how crucial quality housing is, in reducing health risks,” said Mani Rangarajan, Group COO, Housing.com, Makaan.com and PropTiger.com.