The Union health ministry's ambitious programme to provide comprehensive primary health care in the rural areas, a course namely Bachelor of Rural Health Care (BRHC) is under the examination by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare. Once it is cleared by the Standing Committee, the government will introduce this 3½ year rural health care course.
The government has been contemplating to introduce a 3½ year rural health care course tentatively called Bachelor of Rural Health Care (BRHC), framed after taking into consideration of views of various stakeholders including states, union minister for health & family welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad said.
The minister informed Rajya Sabha that presently, the proposal is under examination by the Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare and also by the Medical Council of India. The purpose of the proposed course is to generate a cadre of health care providers who by the virtue of the way they are chosen, trained, deployed and supported would be motivated to live in and provide comprehensive primary health care in the rural areas at the sub-centre level, he said.
Earlier, the union health ministry came out with the proposal to start the 3½ year rural health care course to address the serious concern of availability of human resources in health sector in rural areas. The course aims to generate a cadre of healthcare providers who by the virtue of the way they are chosen, trained, deployed and supported would be motivated to live in and provide comprehensive healthcare in rural areas at sub-centre level.
The proposed course will be of 3-years duration with 6-months of internship and is proposed to be taught in the district hospitals and is especially designed for those who have completed their schooling and passed their qualifying examination from notified rural areas of the district.
Meanwhile, the State of Assam and Chhattisgarh have introduced the short term rural medical course in the recent past through their State Legislation. While in Assam the course is continuing, in Chhattisgarh the same has been discontinued on account of litigation.