District health and hospitals: a system and concept to achieve health for all

India has pledged for "health for all" goals and objectives, agreeing to adopt the vehicle of primary health care to this end. However, till the mid eighties, a lot of emphasis was given to the hospitals under national health policies resulting in the relative segregation of these two approaches. This paper discusses the role of district hospitals as the common link between these two systems and gives a model and concept to unify them.