Post News Network
Cuttack, May 3: Residents of the silver city welcomed the move of the state government to provide free medicines to patients at SCB Medical College and Hospital and district headquarters hospital through the Niramaya scheme.
Sabysachi Parida, a resident of Jajpur who is in the city to get his father treated for old age ailments including diabetes and high blood pressure, said the government move will immensely benefit patients who cannot afford costly medicines prescribed by doctors. “Doctors prescribe medicines which are sometimes very costly. If these are available free of cost, then it will immensely benefit patients,” he said.
Pharmaceutical companies lobbying with doctors in government hospitals to get their medicines referred has been a matter of intense debate in the state. The ‘Jan Aushadhi’ outlets, which were opened with the aim of providing cheap generic medicines to patients, have been a failure in the state. “Most patients do not buy medicines from Jan Aushadhi outlets due to their inefficacy. The medicines are not as effective as their costly counterparts,” said Dr Mayadhar Rout, a retired armed forces doctor and a resident of CDA. He said Jan Aushadhi outlets are not even manned and are always empty. “The initiative of the state government to provide free medicines is commendable. But it should ensure the medicines supplied are of good quality and can be trusted by patients. Only then can it be termed as a true welfare scheme,” Dr Rout said.
Earlier, state health minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak said the government has made a budgetary allocation of `200 crore for the scheme. “Initially, the scheme will cover three government-run medical colleges and hospitals and 30 district headquarter hospitals, besides Capital Hospital and Rourkela Government Hospital”, he had informed.
