Swasthya Sathi: 'Some docs reluctant to perform surgeries in govt hosps'

kolkata: Director of Health Services (DHS) in the state, Dr Ajay Chakraborty, alleged that a section of doctors in government hospitals are reluctant to conduct surgeries in government establishments and prefer to do the same in private hospitals under Swasthya Sathi scheme so that they can make some money out of this state government health scheme.

"Some eye surgeons are not performing cataract operations in government hospitals. They are doing many such surgeries in private establishments. They get the salary from the government but do not provide adequate services. It is a kind of cheating to the people. This cannot be tolerated. They can serve in two places simultaneously and we have no objections. But it is not expected that they will conduct 4 surgeries in a year at government level and innumerable operations in private hospitals. This is why we have to take some steps," Dr Chakraborty said.

He has hinted that as a result of this, some packages under Swasthya Sathi may be stopped which include cataract surgeries, gynecological surgeries etc. He further alleged that some private hospitals are involved in 'siphoning off' government funds under Swasthya Sathi scheme by various means and ways. Some private hospitals have already been warned.

Some hospitals are involved in malpractices only to make money out of the state government health scheme.

They are keeping the patients unnecessarily for longer periods and doing multiple packaging. A patient has received treatment under a certain discipline but it is shown that he/she was given treatment under a different package.

Some nursing homes do not even have qualified nurses. This cannot continue.

All the nursing homes should have qualified nurses and RMOs. Some lapses were found in some private hospitals.

Millennium Post published a report on November 6 saying that the Health department has been taking steps to stop multiple packaging under Swasthya Sathi which had often been done by some private hospitals.

Most of the multiple packaging cases were spotted where patients required treatment under the medicine department.

The story spoke about a rampant practice of treating a patient under multiple packages and also classifying them under an 'unspecified' category by some private hospitals so that more money can be taken from the government.

Many private hospitals have been misusing packages and the government has already spotted such cases.

The Swasthya Sathi health insurance scheme had been introduced by the Government of West Bengal on December 30, 2016, much before a similar scheme was introduced by the Central Government Ayushman Bharat (Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana) (PMJAY). Initially, Swasthya Sathi was a scheme for a specified and targeted population-group.

After the state government decided to continue with this scheme and not to opt for the Central Scheme, Swasthya Sathi has now been extended to the entire resident population of the State from December 1, 2020.

This is a major welfare step, especially at the time of this ongoing pandemic.

It is a comprehensive and free family-floater health cover for secondary and tertiary medical care up to Rs. 5 lakh per annum. The treatment must entail hospitalization.

A wide variety of surgical and non-surgical procedures are covered.

There is no cap on the family size and the parents of both the spouses are eligible for coverage. All dependent and physically challenged persons in the family can also be covered.

A Smart Card is issued to each family which enables cashless hospitalisation. It has biometric details.

A total of 2,047 hospitals, including both private and public, have been empanelled under Swasthya Sathi.