Zero tolerance: State to crack whip on hosps refusing Swasthya Sathi

Pradip Chatterjee, MP, 30 Jan 2023, Kolkata: The Mamata Banerjee government has taken a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to Swasthya Sathi-related issues, particularly in the case of Swasthya Sathi refusal.
The Health department is going to carry out a major crackdown on the private hospitals and nursing homes that are still refusing Swasthya Sathi patients on various pretexts. Health department has already prepared a list of repeat offenders who may face penal action, including cancellation of licenses. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee repeatedly has said that all private hospitals have to provide treatment to the patients failing which steps may be taken against them. 

Sources in the health department said that Swasthya Sathi-related complaints often surface against some of the medium-level private hospitals in the districts. Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday urged the South 24-Parganas district administration to take up Swasthya Sathi-related issues with the hospitals which are denying treatment. 

He also asserted that stern action will be taken against the offenders. State Health department has taken strong action against 15 to 20 private hospitals in the state stopping the payment of dues relating to Swasthya Sathi over a span of the last 5 to 6 months as these hospitals failed to have a prerequisite infrastructure. 

The Bengal government spends around Rs 200 crore every month for the payment of Swasthya Sathi dues to private hospitals. The state sees an admission of around 4,500-6,000 patients under Swasthya Sathi on an average basis every month. State clears the dues in three billing cycles every month which normally fall on the 10th/20th/30th of every month, a senior health official said. 

The Health department has already cracked the whip on multiple packaging under the Swasthya Sathi scheme, which had been rampantly done by some private hospitals against patients, thereby clubbing several packages together, eventually leading to an exorbitant bill amount. Incidentally, the health department in December last year issued a guideline imposing certain restrictions on private hospitals when it comes to treatment under the Swasthya Sathi scheme. 

The new guideline said that if a private health establishment refers a patient without completing the treatment it will get only 50 per cent of the package cost or if the hospital transfers the patient after performing several tests but without carrying out the required surgery, only the 25 per cent of the package cost will be reimbursed. After the Mamata Banerjee government came to power, the budgetary allocation in the health sector has increased manifold in the past couple of years with various health schemes seeing huge allocation. 

According to the state government figure, around 2.4 crores families have been covered under Swasthya Sathi scheme since its inception. There are 22,000 hospitals empanelled under the scheme. West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission (WBCERC) has decided to take the public grievance redressal mechanism to rural Bengal so that people can avail services at their doorsteps. It will also look into Swasthya Sathi-related issues. 

WBCERC Chairperson Justice (retired) Ashim Kumar Banerjee recently held a meeting with the Chief Secretary to discuss several issues relating to private health services. 

https://www.millenniumpost.in/kolkata/zero-tolerance-state-to-crack-whip-on-hosps-refusing-swasthya-sathi-506908