Basic health services provided at the block level is committed by?

RUHS, Jaipur, PB B.Sc Nursing Entrance-2018

Community Health Nursing

Easy

Appeared in: RUHS, Jaipur, PB B.Sc Nursing Entrance-2018

Explanation

The Mukherji Committee was constituted in 1966 under the then Union Health Secretary, Shri B. Mukherji.
Its primary recommendation was to establish basic health services at the block level.
This was proposed to help states manage the maintenance phase of malaria alongside other programs like family planning, smallpox, and leprosy.
The committee suggested that health workers at lower levels should become increasingly multipurpose to provide integrated health services.

Option A: The Bhore Committee (1946) laid the foundation for India's health system by recommending a 3-tier structure and the creation of Primary Health Centres (PHCs), but it did not specifically organize services at the block level.
Option B: The Mudaliar Committee (1962) reviewed the progress after the Bhore Committee and recommended consolidating and strengthening existing PHCs rather than rapid expansion. Its focus was on quality improvement, not restructuring services at the block level.
Option D: The Chadah Committee (1963) was focused on the National Malaria Eradication Programme. It proposed the concept of a multipurpose Basic Health Worker to handle malaria surveillance, family planning, and vital statistics, but not the overall organization of basic health services at the block level.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Recommendations of Health Committees in India as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
Understanding the history of these committees helps nurses appreciate the structure of the current rural health system, including the roles of Sub-Centres, PHCs, and Community Health Centres (CHCs) at the block level.
This knowledge is crucial for understanding referral pathways, resource allocation, and the administrative framework within which community health nurses operate.
What if? If the Chadah Committee's model of a single multipurpose worker had been fully successful and retained, a community health nurse's role might be even more integrated, covering a wider array of vertical programs without the need for specialized workers for each, potentially leading to better continuity of care but also a heavier workload.

How to Approach the Question

First, identify the core concepts in the question: 'basic health services' and 'block level'.
This is a factual recall question that requires knowledge of India's public health history.
Systematically review the key contributions of each committee listed in the options.
Match the keywords from the question to the specific recommendations of one of the committees.
The Bhore committee is linked to PHCs, Mudaliar to strengthening PHCs, and Chadah to multipurpose workers for malaria. The Mukherji committee is specifically associated with organizing services at the block level.

Concept Tested & Keywords

QKCkEAU6g3N7NDWVyLF70L

E6 Comprehensive Textbook of Community Health NursingShyamala D part 1 (pp 26-389 of 389) pp. 69-71, 70-72

E6 Parks TextBook of Preventive & Social Medicine part 2 — Subpart B (pp 233-449 of 464) p. 196-198