Free treatment in Vellore hospital, Delhi AIIMS for Swasthya Sathi cardholders

Kolkata: People in Bengal who have enrolled themselves with Swasthya Sathi, a comprehensive health protection scheme introduced by the state government, will now be able to avail free treatment at Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMs) and Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore.

In a unique move, the Mamata Banerjee government has included the two top hospitals outside the state under the ambit of the Swasthya Sathi scheme, a brainchild of the Chief Minister. Many people from the state go to CMC, Vellore and also to AIIMS in Delhi to get specialised treatment and have to bear a huge cost for the same. Those belonging to economically weaker sections face difficulties to get their dear ones treated in Vellore. The patients who have registered their names with the Swasthya Sathi scheme can now avail free treatment in these hospitals.

"It's a landmark decision by the Mamata Banerjee government where top hospitals from outside the state have been tagged under the scheme. Under the Swasthya Sathi scheme, people get free treatment in all the government and several private hospitals across the state. CMC, Vellore and AIIMS are the latest additions. No other state has been able to start such a broad health scheme in the country so far," said Dr Santanu Sen, Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP.

According to health department sources, nearly 12 lakh people across the state so far have availed cashless treatment at the hospitals under this scheme. More than 70 per cent of the state's population has been brought under the health scheme. Around 1.5 crore families from the state have already benefited from the scheme. Swasthya Sathi scheme has become extremely popular across the state as it provides better facilities than the Centre's Ayushman Bharat scheme. More than 1,570 hospitals across Bengal are providing free health treatment under the Swasthya Sathi scheme.

A family can get secondary and tertiary healthcare up to Rs 5 lakh per annum. The beneficiaries are mainly poor people belonging to the BPL category and those belonging to various unorganised sectors. The civic volunteers, ASHA and ICDS workers, are also covered under the scheme. The Chief Minister announced the health scheme in 2016 to provide free-of-cost health services to even those who are suffering from various critical ailments like cancer, neurosurgery, cardiology related issues, cardiothoracic vascular surgery etc.