This refers to “The existence of railway hospitals” (June 15). The healthcare facilities in India are woefully short. Those who can afford private hospitals, avail their services. The general public should be allowed to make use of railway hospitals, as these hospitals can very well compete with their private counterparts. There should also be sufficient resources for modernisation of railway hospitals. It is hoped that the next budget will earmark a modernisation fund for railway hospitals. In Mumbai, a private company is running metro rail service. It should be made mandatory to build hospitals by a private sector company if it is allowed to run metro rail services, as metro rail is being introduced in a number of cities in India. We should witness competition between railway hospitals of Indian Railways, and that of metro rail services, with access to non-railway patients. The railways should also start air ambulance service, as it will help a lot railway accidents victims.
Deendayal M Lulla Mumbai
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