Treatment upto Rs 10,000 free for poor at Lucknow trauma centre

In a major relief for poor patients in Uttar Pradesh needing emergency medical help, the state's largest trauma centre here said on Thursday it will not charge for treatment up to Rs 10,000, an official said.

The King George's Medical University (KGMU) will treat the poor for free in the first 24-hours of admission to its critical care unit, the official added.

Hundreds of patients, primarily from road accidents, gunshot wounds, burn injuries and other traumatic incidents, are wheeled in at KGMU every day.

Unlike established practice, neither the patients nor their attendants would have to fill any forms or do rounds of various counters for this free treatment.

The doctors at the trauma centre have been authorised to waive off the treatment costs with a simple signature.

From now on soon after the admission of such patients, the doctors will fill up a form for them, take their identity card, note down their telephone numbers, names and address and the fees waiver would be allowed.

In-charge of the KGMU Trauma Centre Haider Abbas said this arrangement has been rolled out to ensure that poor patients are not deprived of treatment for want of money.

The fee waiver also includes the Intensive Care Units (ICU) and ventilator charges for the first 24-hours.

The other prominent trauma centre in the state with a population of 200 million is in Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.