Annual Report - National Human Rights Commission

Annexure 8
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Eastern Region Public Hearing
on Right to Health Care,
Ranchi, 11 October, 2004
Recommendations
The public hearing on the denial of right to health care that was held in Ranchi on the
11-10-2004, heard a number of cases of denial from the five states of Bihar, Jharkhand,
Chhattisgarh, Orissa and West Bengal.
Of the over 70 cases presented orally and about 150 cases submitted in writing, there were a few
recurrent themes.These included:
a. High degrees of illegal fees and denial of treatment if these are not paid – in public health
facilities.
b. Poor quality of service in many public health facilities.
c. Absence of any services in remote tribal areas.
d. Denial of right to safe drinking water.
e. Lack of food security and malnutrition related illness.
f. Expensive, irrational drug prescription along with lack of availability of essential drugs in
public health facilities.
g. Lack of emergency obstetric care services and safe abortion services.
h. Lack of emergency services for a wide variety of emergencies – notably accidents, burns,
snakebites.
i. Lack of referral transport system to access emergency services.
j. Poor access to sterilisation services and poor quality of sterilisation services.
k. Weak public health response to epidemics and sudden increase in infectious deaths in
certain areas.
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