Bhubaneswar: Demanding timely supply of proper medicine and an experienced doctor at a government hospital in Odisha’s Cuttack city, a group of kidney patients have launched a dharna in front of the official residence of Health and Family Welfare Minister N K Das here.
The dharna entered the third day on Wednesday and the patients said they will continue the agitation till fulfilment of their demands.
They demanded supply of medicines as prescribed by their consulting doctors and not whatever is available in stock at SCB Medical College and Hospital.
“The medicines prescribed by the health department are safe. They (agitators) are demanding a specialist doctor for the treatment and the medicines prescribed by them. We are looking into it,” the minister said on Wednesday.
The patients put up a road blockade between the Raj Bhavan and Mahatma Gandhi Road on Tuesday following which the state government called them for a discussion.
“The discussion (with the health secretary) was fruitless. The government forced us to take medicines of a particular brand provided by the hospital. We have been demanding quality medicines,” said one of the agitators.
He alleged that the condition of several patients did not improve even after taking the medicine provided by the hospital.
Manjulata Mohanty of Asurali village of Bhadrak district said, “My son has undergone a kidney transplant. We need Rs 15,000 a month for medicines as the government-supplied tablets are substandard. I fear there is danger to his life and therefore demand quality medicine.”
Another patient, Sanatan Biswal, claimed that the government-supplied medicine is manufactured by a Chandigarh-based company which is blacklisted.
PTI
