Soon, letters from CM for those who have recently undergone treatment
Mamata’s ‘good health’ message to be delivered to those who have been lately treated in state-run hospitals & become part of one of India’s greatest health coverage programmes.
Kolkata: It's good news for those who have received free health treatment in any of the state government hospitals or have been released after undergoing treatment in the past one year. It'll be a matter of days when such patients will receive letters from none other than Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressing her best wishes for their speedy recovery and good health.
This is a unique step taken by the state Health department which will serve as a two-pronged approach to make the 'Swasthya Sathi' scheme more popular and provide a 'feel good' factor to the huge number of beneficiaries of the scheme. The 'Swasthya Sathi' scheme is a brainchild of the Chief Minister herself.
It was learnt that the letter containing the greetings of Banerjee would be delivered to those who have become a part of what emerges to be one of the greatest health coverage programmes in the country.
The state Health department has issued a notification to the Superintendents of all the hospitals including the medical colleges and also to all the Chief Medical Officers of Health in the districts saying that the letters should be issued in the name of the beneficiaries who have received all sorts of free treatment while being admitted to various hospitals for a given period of time. A large number of people who have availed various benefits between March 1, 2018 and February 28, 2019 are entitled to the letter from the Chief Minister.
The Health department has also sent a copy of the greetings to all the hospitals for circulation and issued necessary instructions. The hospitals have been asked to send the letters to the address of the beneficiaries either through post or in person.
All the hospitals have recorded data of the patients, their address and other necessary particulars.
The notification also says that the Chief Medical Officers of Health in the districts and the medical superintendents of the hospitals have to bear all the logistic expenses of the initiative. A feedback of status of delivery of total number of beneficiaries for which such letters have been distributed is to be given to the DDHS (HA) by mail within seven days.
It may be mentioned here that in a major step towards women empowerment across the state, the Chief Minister recently announced that the 'Swasthya Sathi' cards will be issued in the name of a woman member of the family. This will enable them to afford free health treatment for their kin up to the cost of Rs 5 lakh in all state-run hospitals and also several private hospitals.
