September 2, 2019
Govt to construct budget hospitals across the State
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has recently announced plans to set up budget hospitals across the State. A similar service was opened more than a year back at the Woodburn Ward of SSKM Hospital, where a set of cabins charging rates lower than top-quality private hospitals were made available.
The State Health Department has written to the district magistrates to look for land at their district headquarters for the proposed budget hospitals.
The project would follow three models. First, cabins that already exist at district hospitals would be remodelled after Woodburn Ward. Second, new cabins would be built where building space is available. And third, new hospitals would be constructed where there are neither cabins nor building space, and these would be full-fledged budget hospitals, that is, paid services but at reasonable rates.
Since they would be located in the districts, the cost per cabin would be less than the costs at Woodburn Ward.
It has been decided that 75 per cent of the earnings of a hospital would be ploughed back for the development of that hospital and 25 per cent would be distributed as incentive among the doctors employed there.
The State Government has to spend Rs 925 crore every year for the Swasthya Sathi group medical insurance scheme. If those who can pay for services pay, then that would lessen the load on the Government, which would then be able to provide better services for the poor.
Source: Bartaman
