2006年VOA标准英语-India Offers Both Best, Worst of Health Ca

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
03 May 2006

Most of India's billion-plus people struggle with a public health care system that is overburdened in cities and virtually nonexistent in villages. On the other hand, private health care is booming, and the country's state-of-the art hospitals and highly skilled doctors even attract patients from countries where health care costs are much higher. The challenge before India is to make such top quality care accessible for the majority of its people.

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Sakeena, 4, is administered polio vaccine¹ as her mother looks on in Srinagar   
  

When Pardip Singh's elder brother fell ill with a severe nerve ailment³ in a remote village in the eastern state of Bihar, he brought him all the way to New Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences - the country's premier⁴ government-run hospital.

Singh had little choice. There were no health centers or doctors near his village who could even diagnose his brother's condition. At the New Delhi hospital, some of the country's best doctors attend to his brother. Twenty-eight-year-old Singh's worries should have ended - but they have just begun.

Singh says he has given up his job as a security guard to stand in long lines with his brother at the hospital. The treatment is free, but to pay for the tests, he has borrowed 350 dollars at a crippling interest of nearly 50 percent a year.

Like Singh, thousands of people flock everyday to big public hospitals in Delhi and other cities for treatment.

But in these overcrowded hospitals, they must first battle serpentine⁵ lines to see specialists, wait months to undergo tests and surgeries, and spend more than they can afford for board and lodging⁶. Many sick people never gather the resources needed to make the journey and tens of thousands of others borrow money or sell assets to cover expenses. 

Mother with child at Malipur Maternity⁷ Home in Delhi, India   
  
The head of All India Institute's cardiology department, Srinath Reddy, says one of the primary problems confronting the country is that two-thirds of its billion plus people live in villages - but most hospitals are in big cities.

"We have maldistribution," Reddy explained. " The rural areas and some of the underdeveloped states do not have adequate medical facilities. It is not so much acute lack of vaccines⁸ or hospital beds. But most of the beds are in urban areas whereas most of the people are in rural areas, so that is where the problem is."

It is not just advanced care that poses a problem. Even good basic care is inaccessible⁹ to the vast majority of people. Thousands of primary medical centers exist, but they are perpetually short of personnel and medicines.

The government, led by the Congress Party, has promised to increase health care services for the rural areas and the poor by appointing community health workers, and implementing¹⁰ a national insurance program - but little has been done so far to meet those goals.

The lack of an effective public health system has led to a booming private system, which takes care of three-quarters of the country's needs.

But the system is unregulated, and poor people are often forced to turn to medical practitioners¹¹ who are little more than quacks¹².

Dr. Reddy at the All India Institute is a member of a new private initiative called the Public Health Foundation, which wants to train thousands of public health professionals to meet the country's vast needs.

"There are no standard guidelines (for) treatment which are universally disseminated¹³ and adopted for practice by primary care physicians, there are no quality checks," he said. " And therefore both malpractice which is intentional¹⁴ as well as inadequate¹⁵ medical treatment, these are problems that plague the private sector¹⁶ health care delivery."

The scene is radically¹⁷ different for those who can pay for top-of-the-line private services.

India's million plus doctors include specialists on par² with the best in the world.

These doctors staff state-of-the-art facilities that not only cater¹⁸ to middle class Indians but also attract patients from other countries.

That has encouraged a budding medical tourism industry - drawing foreign patients to India for world class treatment at relatively¹⁹ low cost.

New Delhi's Apollo Hospital is at the forefront of this emerging business. Last year it treated 12,000 patients from across the globe - neighboring Bangladesh and Pakistan, to Africa and even developed countries such as the United States, Canada and Britain.

Some people come for knee replacements²⁰ and heart surgeries for which they may have to wait for months in their home countries, others seek cosmetic²¹ procedures that are five to 10 times cheaper in India than in developed countries.

Apollo Hospital's marketing²² head, Anil Maini, says such hospitals are "centers of excellence²³". He says once the hospital door is shut, overseas patients never glimpse the urban slums, overcrowding and other problems in India that might erode²⁴ their confidence in seeking treatment in a developing country.

"Within the four walls of the hospital, we pick him up from the airport and bring him in, he is totally cocooned²⁵ in the hospital and not exposed to any Third World bane as we say," Maini said.

Fernanda Wagland from Britain was traveling in India with her husband when he was hit by a stomach infection.

She brought him to Apollo Hospital and describes the experience as "pleasant." She may even consider seeking treatment here in the future.

"In England, we would be in the kind of multiple (bed) ward²⁶, a bit more hectic²⁷, so we are getting more exclusive treatment here. If you really wanted something special done with more care and one-to-one treatment, perhaps one could consider coming here," she said.

The challenge before the country now is to put such high quality services within reach of the poor. Doctors say there is little time to lose - millions in the country suffer from infectious diseases such as tuberculosis²⁸ and other killers²⁹ such as AIDS, and lifestyle diseases such as diabetes³⁰ and heart problems are emerging on a massive scale in rapidly growing cities.

1 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

2 par   

n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的

参考例句：

• Sales of nylon have been below par in recent years.近年来尼龙织品的销售额一直不及以往。
• I don't think his ability is on a par with yours.我认为他的能力不能与你的能力相媲美。

3 ailment   

n.疾病，小病

参考例句：

• I don't have even the slightest ailment.我什么毛病也没有。
• He got timely treatment for his ailment.他的病得到了及时治疗。

4 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

5 serpentine   

adj.蜿蜒的，弯曲的

参考例句：

• One part of the Serpentine is kept for swimmers.蜿蜒河的一段划为游泳区。
• Tremolite laths and serpentine minerals are present in places.有的地方出现透闪石板条及蛇纹石。

6 lodging   

n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍

参考例句：

• The bill is inclusive of the food and lodging. 账单包括吃、住费用。
• Where can you find lodging for the night? 你今晚在哪里借宿?

7 maternity   

n.母性，母道，妇产科病房；adj.孕妇的，母性的

参考例句：

• Women workers are entitled to maternity leave with full pay.女工产假期间工资照发。
• Trainee nurses have to work for some weeks in maternity.受训的护士必须在产科病房工作数周。

8 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

9 inaccessible   

adj.达不到的，难接近的

参考例句：

• This novel seems to me among the most inaccessible.这本书对我来说是最难懂的小说之一。
• The top of Mount Everest is the most inaccessible place in the world.珠穆朗玛峰是世界上最难到达的地方。

10 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

11 practitioners   

n.习艺者，实习者( practitioner的名词复数 )；从业者（尤指医师）

参考例句：

• one of the greatest practitioners of science fiction 最了不起的科幻小说家之一
• The technique is experimental, but the list of its practitioners is growing. 这种技术是试验性的，但是采用它的人正在增加。 来自辞典例句

12 quacks   

abbr.quacksalvers 庸医，骗子(16世纪习惯用水银或汞治疗梅毒的人)n.江湖医生( quack的名词复数 )；江湖郎中；（鸭子的）呱呱声v.（鸭子）发出嘎嘎声( quack的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• I went everywhere for treatment, tried all sorts of quacks. 我四处求医，看过了各种各样的江湖郎中。 来自辞典例句
• Hard-working medical men may come to be almost as mischievous as quacks. 辛勤工作的医生可能变成江湖郎中那样的骗子。 来自辞典例句

13 disseminated   

散布，传播( disseminate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their findings have been widely disseminated . 他们的研究成果已经广为传播。
• Berkovitz had contracted polio after ingesting a vaccine disseminated under federal supervision. 伯考维茨在接种了在联邦监督下分发的牛痘疫苗后传染上脊髓灰质炎。

14 intentional   

adj.故意的，有意（识）的

参考例句：

• Let me assure you that it was not intentional.我向你保证那不是故意的。
• His insult was intentional.他的侮辱是有意的。

15 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

16 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

17 radically   

ad.根本地，本质地

参考例句：

• I think we may have to rethink our policies fairly radically. 我认为我们可能要对我们的政策进行根本的反思。
• The health service must be radically reformed. 公共医疗卫生服务必须进行彻底改革。

18 cater   

vi.(for/to)满足，迎合；(for)提供饮食及服务

参考例句：

• I expect he will be able to cater for your particular needs.我预计他能满足你的特殊需要。
• Most schools cater for children of different abilities.大多数学校能够满足具有不同天资的儿童的需要。

19 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

20 replacements   

n.代替( replacement的名词复数 )；替换的人[物]；替代品；归还

参考例句：

• They infiltrated behind the lines so as to annoy the emery replacements. 他们渗透敌后以便骚扰敌军的调度。 来自辞典例句
• For oil replacements, cheap suddenly looks less of a problem. 对于石油的替代品来说，价格变得无足轻重了。 来自互联网

21 cosmetic   

n.化妆品；adj.化妆用的；装门面的；装饰性的

参考例句：

• These changes are purely cosmetic.这些改变纯粹是装饰门面。
• Laughter is the best cosmetic,so grin and wear it!微笑是最好的化妆品，所以请尽情微笑吧！

22 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

23 excellence   

n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德

参考例句：

• His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
• My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。

24 erode   

v.侵蚀，腐蚀，使...减少、减弱或消失

参考例句：

• Once exposed,soil is quickly eroded by wind and rain.一旦暴露在外，土壤很快就会被风雨侵蚀。
• Competition in the financial marketplace has eroded profits.金融市场的竞争降低了利润。

25 cocooned   

v.茧，蚕茧( cocoon的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The doctors cocooned the patient in blankets. 医生们将病人紧包在毯子里。 来自辞典例句
• I cocooned in my own kingdom. 我完全沉迷在我自己的王国中。 来自辞典例句

26 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

27 hectic   

adj.肺病的；消耗热的；发热的；闹哄哄的

参考例句：

• I spent a very hectic Sunday.我度过了一个忙乱的星期天。
• The two days we spent there were enjoyable but hectic.我们在那里度过的两天愉快但闹哄哄的。

28 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

29 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

30 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。