The State government is considering winding up the Karnataka Health System Commission (KHSC) constituted by the previous Bharatiya Janata Party government last year.
The previous government had appointed the former Bangalore University Vice-Chancellor N. Prabhu Dev as chairman of the commission last September for a period of three years or the tenure decided by the State government.
Note on plans
A note on winding up the commission would be prepared soon and placed before the next Cabinet meeting. The Cabinet would take a final call on winding up or continuation the commission, sources in the State Secretariat told The Hindu .
Officials have discussed the relevance of the commission with Minister for Health and Family Welfare U.T. Khader at a meeting held last week. Meanwhile, Dr. Prabhu Dev is learnt to have called on U.T. Khader and Minister for Medical Education Sharan Prakash Patil and explained the role of the commission and its relevance in the Health Department. The officer said that the commission and its post of chairman were created “only to accommodate” Dr. Prabhu Dev after his resignation as Vice-Chancellor of Bangalore University.
No recommendations
The commission has not made any major recommendations to the Health and Family Welfare Department so far in delivery of services or implementation of any schemes, a top official in the department said.
The Cabinet, headed by the former Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda, had approved creation of the commission to suggest ways and means to improve medical education, promote healthcare research and integration of Indian system of medicine with modern medicine.
The commission also has been asked to assist the Health Department in streamlining public-private partnership between corporate hospitals and the government, besides improving health infrastructure in the State.
