A patient was dragged on a bed sheet to the x-ray room by one of the staff at a medical college in Madhya Pradesh, India. This video shared by the Indian news agency Asian News International (ANI), was caught on camera, shocking many social media users.

The incident took place at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose (NSCB) Hospital in Jabalpur and three people were suspended after the viral video. Video link: https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1145050838978768896

Dr. Navneet Saxena, the dean of the medical college, said that the administration has launched an inquiry and action will be taken against all who are found guilty.

Indian tweeple are shocked at the medical negligence and said that those responsible must be held responsible. A careful look at the video also shows other people sleeping and squatting in the corridor and patients are lying down on the floor in a ward.

This video has also raised an important question about where the beds and the stretchers in this hospital are. Why is the condition of medical facilities so miserable?

Earlier in 2017, over 70 children had died in a matter of days at Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur, a tragedy that had raised questions which involved the government hospital where it occurred due to the alleged short supply of oxygen cylinders.

In June 2017, a national Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report had revealed a 27.21 per cent shortage for clinical equipment and 56.33 per cent for non-clinical equipment, of which oxygen supply was a part. The report also found critical medical equipment could not be used for more than five years because there was no annual maintenance contract.

A 2018 National Health Profile report released by the then Indian union minister for health and family welfare, J P Nadda showed that the government spent Rs1, 397 per person per year on health as per the estimates of the 2016-2017 budget. This means Rs116.4 per month.

Approximately 1.3 per cent India’s Gross Domestic Product is spent on healthcare which is lower than the spending ratio by some of the poorest countries of South Asia such as Bangladesh, Maldives and Sri Lanka.

India has achieved the World Health Organization’s recommended doctor to population ratio of 1:1,000 last year but many of these doctors are in urban private clinics. A very small percentage of these doctors chose to offer their services in rural clinics or healthcare facilities. Doctors or even medical staff cannot be totally blamed considering the lack of healthcare professionals and hospital equipment in rural hospitals.

Healthcare is one of India’s largest sectors in terms of revenue and employment. Healthcare in India covers hospitals, medical devices, clinical trials, outsourcing, telemedicine, medical tourism, health insurance and medical equipment.

According to the India Brand Equity Foundation numbers, the Indian healthcare industry amounted to $160 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach $370 billion by 2022 due to increased demand for specialized and quality healthcare facilities. The rural and government healthcare facilities need to be given more importance.