Balasore: Janani Surakhya Yojana (JSY), a flagship programme of the Centre’s National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) to ensure safe motherhood, seems to have become a casualty at the district headquarters hospital here.
While a woman is entitled to cash assistance of Rs 1,400 after childbirth under the scheme, here it is the other way round. Some DHH staffers are alleged to extort money from expectant mothers through ASHA workers in broad daylight. Patients admitted to the hospital alleged they were made to pay Rs 1,350 for delivery.
However, the going price shoots up to Rs 5,000 if the patient is required to undergo a Caesarean section for the delivery, the patients alleged.
Tension mounted Tuesday at the gynaecology ward of the hospital over one such instance.
Ranjana Jena and Sujata Jena of Kalyani area and Saima Bibi of Patapol area alleged they paid Rs 1,350 each to the ASHA workers so that they are looked after in a proper manner. Patients are not allowed admission to the hospital unless the money is paid by their attendants, they said, adding that a tribal woman of Nilgiri area also had to pay Rs100 to ensure proper treatment for herself.
Patients who alleged they were forced to pay money between Rs1,350 and Rs2,000 to get admitted to the hospital were identified as Sabitri Nayak, Prabhati Mohapatra, Kanakalata Rout, Lina Mandal, Durgamani Mohanty, Sasmita Behera and Minati Mahalik, a local activist Santosh Nayak said.
The hospital authorities never bother to address the issue even though several complaints were lodged with them in this regard, he added.
When contacted, chief district medical officer (CDMO) Dr Bhabani Shankar Pani said though probes were conducted in the past on the basis of the complaints, initiating action was not easy since the complainants didn’t cooperate during the investigation.
It may be noted that the DHH is a prominent hospital in north Orissa and was accorded ISO 9001 certificate in 2008 for maintaining good quality in healthcare services. PNN