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Time of India
03-07-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Maharashtra likely to hike penalty on charitable hospitals which refuse to treat poor patients despite availing govt concessions
Mumbai: The state government plans to implement a new SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) to streamline treatment priority in charitable hospitals, prompted by the growing numbers of poor and underprivileged residents. This decision follows concerns raised during a calling attention motion in the state legislative assembly on Thursday, highlighting the failure to provide 20% reserved beds and free treatment to the poor, despite this being a condition for receiving concessions. The state also aims to accelerate bed allocation for beneficiaries of government schemes like Ladki Bahin besides increasing the penalty on those hospitals not abiding by government conditions of providing treatment to poor by reserving the beds. "Charitable hospitals in the state have received land and various concessions such as 30% discount in their power and water bills. These hospitals are expected to provide reserved beds and concessional treatment rates to poor patients. However, a survey conducted by the Global Vikas Trust revealed that 70% of beds reserved for the poor and 92% of beds for the underprivileged were not utilized across the state. Additionally, even 2% of the IPF (Indigent Patient Fund) was not used. Hospitals say they are unaware of these provisions, which is why the charitable hospitals have yet to comply to government conditions fully," said the motion raised by members such as Sana Malik, Atul Bhatkhalkar, Ajay Chaudhary, Chetan Tupe, Rajkumar Badole, Sanjay Kelkar, Rohit Pawar, Yogesh Sagar, Jitendra Awhad and Abu Aazmi. Replying to the motion, minister Ashish Jaiswal announced the appointment of 168 health ambassadors to oversee approximately 600 charitable hospitals, ensuring proper treatment for nearly 3 lakh poor patients with 10% reserved beds. The state is considering increased penalties for hospitals refusing treatment to eligible patients, he said, confirming action against hospitals not participating in the bed availability app for government schemes. Regarding Dinanath Mangeshkar Hospital case in Pune, he noted the government's recommendation to revoke a doctor's licence following a patient's death, adding that the government had offered deposits to the deceased's children. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai Following a 2004 court petition regarding charitable hospitals, directives mandated 10% bed reservation for indigent patients earning below ₹1.80 lakh, and another 10% for those earning between ₹1.80 lakh to ₹3.60 lakh. Various improvements have since been implemented to enhance the scheme's effectiveness. "Charitable hospitals are required to deposit 2% of their revenue into the IPF, and the government expects this fund to be properly utilized. Initially, there were 94 hospitals that had received government land. To expand the scope, any hospital receiving any form of grant was also brought under this scheme, increasing the number of covered hospitals to 303. However, a challenge remains: people with incomes between ₹1.80 and ₹3.60 lakh fall into a grey area. The Chief Minister's "Ladki Bahin" scheme has a limit of ₹2.5 lakh, and it already covers over 2.5 crore beneficiaries. The Sanjay Gandhi scheme covers 45 lakh beneficiaries. Therefore, the government has plans to issue a new SOP to define which patients among the poor and underprivileged should be prioritized," Minister of State for Health, Ashish Jaiswal, said pointing out that care will be taken to ensure that people don't suffer due to the exhaustion of the 2% IPF funds.
Time of India
29-04-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Free beds for the poor in trust hosps mostly remain vacant, says study
Mumbai: Seven out of 10 beds meant for indigent patients in the city's charity trust-run hospitals remain vacant through the year. And around nine of 10 beds that should be available at a subsidised rate for economically weaker sections also remain unoccupied. These allegations have been made by an NGO, Global Vikas Trust , which has been monitoring the Charity Commissioner's website for data on the number of free and subsidised beds available at these hospitals. Sanjay Parmar from the NGO said he captured data daily from Dec 2023 to March 31 and found most of the 34 trust hospitals don't enable full use of their free or subsidised beds. According to the findings, 71% of free beds for the poor and 93% of subsidised beds for the weaker sections remained unoccupied. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai "Our public hospitals are overcrowded, yet hundreds of beds in trust-run hospitals remain unutilised," said social activist Mayank Gandhi of the Global Vikas Trust. The issue of free beds came under focus after a pregnant woman was denied admission to a trust hospital in Pune last month because of her family's inability to pay a hefty pre-admission deposit. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Barnsley: Born Between 1940-1975 You May Be Eligible For This Life Cover Reassured Get Quote Undo The chief minister has since introduced new rules: the state last week made it mandatory for charitable hospitals to get empanelled under the Mahatma Phule Jyotiba Arogya Yojana , Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, and National Child Health Programme to ensure needy patients are not turned away. On Monday, Gandhi and Parmar met with Srikar Pardeshi, secretary to the chief minister, and Rameshwar Naik, head of the Chief Minister's Relief Fund, to highlight the issue of "unoccupied free beds" in trust hospitals. "We found out that accessing these beds is a complex process. Poor patients lack awareness and digital access," said Gandhi. "The current process requires a patient or his/her relative to submit a signed form via email or in person. This is impractical for many distressed or illiterate individuals, especially if they are seeking admission due to an emergency at midnight," said Gandhi. They alleged that the 2% Indigent Patient Fund (IPF) that trust-run hospitals have to maintain to provide free healthcare for poor patients is misused or underutilised. A grievance redressal mechanism is also needed. When contacted, Naik from CM's Relief Fund said changes in the working of trust-run hospitals would be visible in the next four to five days.
