1 week Ago
Pune: The state health department has instructed all charitable hospitals, those on the panel for Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana , and medical colleges under Maharashtra University of Health Sciences to carry out a free community health screening campaign across Maharashtra in the next two months starting on September 1. As per an order issued in the last week of August, a hospital with more than 100 beds is required to conduct 40 camps, while the one with more than 50 and less than 100 beds will hold 30 camps and the one with less than 50 beds will organise 20 camps. These health camps would offer free surgeries and diagnostic tests other than registration of Ayushman cards among other facilities.
However, the Indian Medical Association's Hospital Board of India has said the govt is trying to gain political mileage, in the run-up to the state elections, by forcing hospitals to conduct such campaigns. "The state govt did not take the hospitals into confidence before making this decision. Hence, we are going to write to the govt seeking to not make this exercise compulsory.
Such initiatives must be voluntary. It is clear that the govt has announced this drive keeping an eye on the assembly polls," Dr Sanjay Patil from Hospital Board of India (IMA) Pune Chapter, said. Hospital associations have objected to the timing and the mandatory number of camps.
Dr H K Sale, chairperson of the Association of Hospitals, Pune, said currently the city is dealing with an upsruge in dengue and chikungunya cases and most tertiary-level hospital staff are busy managing critical patients. "Also, if a particular hospital is mandated to conduct a camp at a faraway location, then it might not be possible. Charitable hospitals are generally engaged in multiple community health screening campaigns and this additional task would not be feasible.
We did discuss these issues during our meeting with the charity commissioner on Friday," he said, adding the govt should have consulted hospital associations before announcing this move. The govt hopes that more 25,000 community health camps will be held in the two months..
