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'''Healthcare in [[West Bengal]]''' features a [[universal health care]] system run by the state and the federal governments. The [[Constitution of India]] charges every [[states and territories of India|state]] with "raising of the level of [[nutrition]] and the [[standard of living]] of its people and the improvement of [[public health]] as among its primary duties". [[Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (West Bengal)|Ministry of Health & Family Welfare]] of the [[Government of West Bengal]] is responsible for administering and funding the public hospital system in the state. The entire state population is covered by a health insurance, either provided by their employer or the [[Employees’ State Insurance]] (if the employee’s salary is up Rs 21000/month). Other categories of people (low-income, self-employed, the unemployed or the retired etc.) are covered under the state’s public health insurance scheme (Swasthya Sathi). As of 2021, the total public healthcare budget of the state is {{INRConvert|16368|c}}, out of which {{INRConvert|10922|c}} was earmarked for public hospitals, {{INRConvert|2000|c}} was to be spent on the public health insurance program (Swasthya Sathi) and {{INRConvert|5246|c}} is to be spent on primary health services. An additional {{INRConvert|1000|c}}, outside the official health budget, was to be spent on health insurance coverage for the current and retired employees of the state government. Healthcare forms roughly 4.5% of the state's entire budget which critics say should be increased to at least 8% in line with the [[National Health Policy]].<ref>http://wbfin.nic.in/writereaddata/Budget_Speech/2021_English.pdf</ref>

==Healthcare infrastructure==
The health care infrastructure is divided into three tiers — the primary health-care network, a secondary care system comprising district and sub-divisional hospitals and tertiary hospitals providing specialty and super specialty care.<ref name=governance>{{cite web|url= http://www.wbhealth.gov.in/inner.asp?pass_file_id=23|title= Governance|work= |publisher= Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of West Bengal|accessdate= 22 February 2012|archive-date= 21 March 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120321062320/http://www.wbhealth.gov.in/inner.asp?pass_file_id=23|url-status= live}}</ref> A Chief Medical Officer of Health (C.M.O.H.) heads each of the eighteen districts. The responsibility of CMOH is to manage the primary health care sector and ensure the effective implementation of the various medical, health and family welfare programmes.<ref name=governance/> The secondary level hospitals (sub-divisional and district hospitals) are headed by superintendents who report to the C.M.O.H. and are accountable to a hospital management committee. At the block level, the Block Medical Officer of Health (BMOH) is responsible for providing services and for monitoring and supervising the primary health centres and health programme implementation.<ref name=governance/>

[[File:Mchbuilding.JPG|thumb|left|[[Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata|Calcutta Medical College]], the second institution in Asia to teach modern medicine (after 'Ecole de Médicine de Pondichéry')|alt=A big building in cream colour with many columns and a portico]]
[[File:IPGMER SSKM Woodburn.jpg|thumb|left|[[IPGMER and SSKM Hospital]], largest hospital in [[West Bengal]] and one of the oldest in Kolkata.]]

West Bengal Health Service provides the health care professionals for the statewide infrastructure, while Medical Education Service employs teachers at the training institutions.<ref name=governance/>

The number and beds sanctioned in different types of healthcare setup, as published by the government of West Bengal, are in the following table.<ref name=bednumbers/> In this table, hospitals under other departments of state government include government undertaking organisations, and rural hospitals include those ones which were upgraded from block primary health centre.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Type of institution !! number !! Number of beds sanctioned<ref name=bednumbers>{{cite web|url=http://www.wbhealth.gov.in/Health_Stat/2010_2011/6/VI.1.pdf|title=Table VI.1 Medical Institutions in West Bengal as on 30.11.2011|publisher=Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of West Bengal|date=30 November 2011|accessdate=23 February 2012|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304093305/http://www.wbhealth.gov.in/Health_Stat/2010_2011/6/VI.1.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|''' Hospitals/health centers under department of Health and Family Welfare'''|| ||
|-
|Medical College Hospital || 13 || 12,641
|-
| District hospital || 15 || 8,204
|-
| Subdivisional hospital || 45 || 9,901
|-
| State general hospital || 33 || 4,899
|-
| Other hospital || 33 || 6,504
|-
| Rural hospital || 269 || 8,820
|-
| Block Primary health centre || 79 || 1,086
|-
|Primary health centre || 909 || 6,592
|-
| Subcentre || 10,356 || 0
|-
| '''Hospitals under other departments of state government''' || 72 || 6,212
|-
|''' Hospitals under local body''' || 31 || 1,080
|-
| '''Hospitals under government of India''' || 58 || 7,126
|-
| '''Hospitals under NGO/private''' || 2,013 || 34,281
|-
| '''Total''' || 13,925 || 1,07,346
|}

==Healthcare indices==
Following table illustrates some health care indicators of the state, compared to the national indicator, and comparison with some major states that fared better than West Bengal (states with population 20 millions or more as of 2011 national census were considered as major states for this table).<ref name=viatlstats>{{cite web|url= http://www.wbhealth.gov.in/Health_Stat/2010_2011/Basic_Health_Indicators.pdf|title= Basic Health Indicators|publisher= Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of West Bengal|accessdate= 23 February 2012|archive-date= 28 February 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130228025136/http://www.wbhealth.gov.in/Health_Stat/2010_2011/Basic_Health_Indicators.pdf|url-status= live}}</ref> These data are based on [[Sample Registration System]] of Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Indicator (with year)<ref name=viatlstats/> !! West Bengal !! India !! Rank in India !! Major states better than West Bengal
|-
|[[Birth rate]], 2010 || 16.8 || 22.1 || 4 ||
Kerala (14.8), Tamil Nadu (15.9), Punjab(16.6)
|-
|[[Death rate]], 2010 || 6.0 || 7.2 || 1 || none
|-
| [[Infant mortality rate]], 2010 || 31|| 47|| 4 || Kerala (13), Tamil Nadu (24), Maharashtra (28)
|-
| [[Total fertility rate]], 2009 || 1.9 || 2.6 || 2 || Kerala (1.7), Tamil Nadu (1.7)
|-
| [[Perinatal mortality#Neonatal mortality|Neonatal mortality rate]], 2009||25 || 34 || 4 || Kerala (7), Tamil Nadu (18), Maharashtra (24)
|-
| [[Child mortality#Rate|Under 5 mortality rate]], 2009 || 40|| 64 || 4 || Kerala (14), Tamil Nadu (33), Maharashtra (36)
|-
| [[Maternal death#Maternal Mortality Ratio .28MMR.29|Maternal mortality ratio]], 2007–2009 || 145 || 212 || 5||Kerala (81), Tamil Nadu (97), Maharashtra (104), Andhra Pradesh (134)
|}

==Healthcare issues==
{{Empty section|date=June 2012}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Health in West Bengal]]

Healthcare in West Bengal - Revision history

>Serols at 11:51, 3 October 2021