Bhubaneswar: Civil society members Saturday alleged that several private hospitals are not following the guidelines issued by the state government.
According to an Orissa government directive based on a Supreme Court ruling the 44 private hospitals in the city must provide free treatment to 25 per cent of Out Patients Department (OPD) and 10 per cent of In-Patient Department (IPD) from the Below Poverty Line (BPL) segment.
But RTI activist Pradeep Pradhan told Orissa POST there is no record to show that hospitals are following the rule.
“When we filed an RTI to know the number of poor patients these 44 hospitals have treated for free, the state government was unable to respond,” Pradhan said.
“According to the Supreme Court order 25 per cent of OPD and 10 per cent of IPD patients have to be given treatment free of cost. Basing on the apex court’s order, the state government had earlier asked 44 private hospitals, to whom prime land was allotted at highly subsidised rates, to provide free treatment to the poor. However, it seems the hospitals have not followed the guidelines,” he alleged.
“An 18-year-old boy, Braja Sundar Panda, whose father is a BPL card holder, was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Patia. Braja Sundar Panda’s father paid `47, 000 for his son’s treatment despite being a BPL card holder,” civil society members said.
“However, Braja died a couple of months back while undergoing treatment at the same hospital. The hospital has also illegally constructed its building on the government land,” they alleged. PNN