State's scheme for accident victims remains a non-starter

Many private hospitals are clueless about how it works

 The Karnataka government might bask in glory for being the first state in the country to introduce a scheme to provide treatment to accident victims.

But the irony is private hospitals who are the service providers, are clueless about how the scheme works.

It has been three weeks now since the scheme Mukhyamantri Santwana - Harish Scheme was launched to provide immediate medical treatment to road accident victims within no time. Both private and government hospitals have been empanelled by the Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust (SAST) as service providers. When Deccan Herald spoke to private hospitals across the City, they said that have not received any guideline for the implementation of this scheme.

No information

“We read in papers that we should treat accident victims immediately and the government will bear the cost. But how to claim the amount? There are no guidelines given on the procedures,” said a representative from one of the private hospitals in South Bengaluru.

The hospital administrator said that they were told that it is mandatory for them to empanel themselves as service providers under the Vajpayee Arogyashree scheme as well if they wish to take up the Harish Scheme. “It is a good scheme. At present, it is serving no purpose. It is merely providing publicity for the government,” he said.

As many as 86 hospitals that have been empanelled under the Vajpayee Arogyashree scheme for polytrauma, have by default been empanelled under the Harish scheme as well, according to officials with the SAST. Most of these private hospitals, when contacted said that they were unaware that they had been empanelled.

“How can they empanel us that way by default. If the government continues to take such decisions, we might contemplate on de-empanelling ourselves from the other schemes as well,” said a medical director of a private hospital.

Dr M D Marker, medical director, Sri Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain Hospital said, “There is a Supreme Court ruling on this. We do not deny any patient who comes to our doorstep for treatment. We do not know about the implementation of Harish Scheme,” he said.

Dr P Bore Gowda, executive director, Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust said, “Hospitals have to mandatorily treat any accident victim. Private hospitals who are not empanelled under the scheme can give treatment and later reclaim the money. We will conduct training for hospitals in the first week of April.”

The trust has asked private hospitals to empanel themselves. According to sources in the SAST, the response to this has been poor and the trust has thus been letting the non-empanelled hospitals provide the scheme as well.

Loopholes

Have no guidelines
Unaware of procedures involved
Unhappy with the reimbursement
Not kept posted about default empanelment