After years of dilly-dallying on the issue, the union health ministry will soon introduce the three and a half year Bachelor of Science (Community Health) course to create mid-level health professionals to meet the shortage of doctors in the rural areas. They will be primarily be deployed at sub-centres and would possess the necessary public health and ambulatory care competencies to serve the rural population.

A task force has been constituted to frame norms for requirement of physical infrastructure, facilities required in Rural Health Schools and examine aspects regarding introduction of the course. Further, the matter is also being examined by the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health & Family Welfare. The proposed course is likely to be introduced in the states willing to adopt it from the academic 2013-2014, union minister for health & family welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad informed Lok Sabha recently.

The duration of the course will be three years with six months of rotational internship and the candidates eligible for the course will be those who have completed 10 +2 with science subjects i.e. Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Admission as well as deployment will be district based as far as possible and reservations would apply as per norms. After acquiring this degree, the graduates will be employed as Community Health Officers (CHOs) by state government.

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, sources said.

Though the proposal was prepared in consultation with Medical Council of India (MCI), a few associations like Indian Medical Association (IMA) have not welcomed the proposal. Nonetheless, in order to address the serious concern of availability of human resources in health sector in rural areas, the government is committed to introduce the course, with inbuilt safeguards, Azad said.

Earlier named as Bachelor of Rural Health Care (BRHC) course, the new course was prepared by the government in consultation with Medical Council of India (MCI).