CAG report says implementation of Karnataka Integrated Public Health Policy was inadequate for 2016-22

The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India on Public Health Infrastructure and Management of Health Services has observed that the implementation of the Karnataka Integrated Public Health Policy was inadequate as norms were either not prescribed or the existing national norms were not adopted.

In the instances where norms were prescribed, they were not in accordance with the national norms, stated the report that was tabled in the State legislature on Thursday. The report covers the period 2016-22.

The policy aimed to attain the highest possible level of good health and well-being of people in the State to be realised through a preventive, promotive, curative and rehabilitative healthcare orientation, with universal access to quality and affordable healthcare services to all and inclusion of health in all development policies.

The report has also observed that the State government’s manpower norms fell short of the Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS), particularly for hospitals with over 300 beds, where staffing requirements were not specified.

There was a lack of systematic analysis to revise staff numbers, with no action plan to address identified gaps, it pointed out. Vacancies for doctors, nurses, paramedics, and others ranged from 29% to 53%, with significant disparities across different hospital tiers under Health and Family Welfare Department, the report noted.

“Shortage of doctors was particularly pronounced in tertiary care facilities. AYUSH hospitals faced an overall vacancy of 59%, raising concerns about service quality,” the report said.

Maternity services were affected by shortage of staff, shortage of drugs and non-availability of the prescribed pathological investigation in all the test-checked health institutes. The average still berth rate was between zero and 44.19 in the test-checked hospitals, the report sated.

The report also stated that the norms and parameters prescribed for the storage of medicine were not adhered to in the test- checked hospitals.