Victims struggle for golden-hour aid as pvt hospitals shun Harish Scheme

The Mukhyamantri Santwana-Harish Scheme (MSHS) has been affected with a large number of private hospitals with emergency and polytrauma services refusing to register themselves under the scheme.

As a result, the very purpose of the government’s novel initiative to ensure aid during golden hour is getting defeated.

For instance, Manjula, 30, a garment factory worker who was hit by a speeding vehicle on Hosur road on September 6, was shifted out of Sparsh Super Speciality Hospital in Bommasandra, as her family couldn’t afford the treatment cost. Manjula’s brother Kumar told DH that the hospital was quoting Rs 2.5 lakh for treating hip and hand fractures. Manjula was shifted to another private hospital in Mangammanapalya on Wednesday after a well-wisher volunteered to bear the treatment cost.

Dr P Boregowda, Executive Director of Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust that is implementing the government health assurance schemes said that out of the 770 hospitals empanelled under MSHS, only 294 were private hospitals. Major trauma care facilities such as Sparsh and Hosmat were refusing to register under the s cheme, despite the Trust trying to empanel them.

Boregowda said big corporate hospitals were the ones that were hesitating to register themselves under the scheme. In the last one year itself major hospitals such as Apollo, Fortis, Manipal, HCG and Baptist had moved out of the Vajpayee Arogya Shree scheme citing “lame” reasons.

“But we can’t let MSHS to suffer. The government has to make it compulsory for all private hospitals to register themselves under this scheme,” he added.

Dr Sharan Patil, Chairman, Sparsh Hospital however has a different take. He said that when the scheme was launched, the government did not enrol his hospital.

“We too did not pursue it actively. The government needs to dwell deeper into the rationale and logic behind a scheme which is meant for saving lives. The amount stipulated is very meagre, as the hospitals can claim a maximum of Rs 25,000 for high quality treatment like craniotomy which costs Rs 1.5 lakh. In many instances, road accident victims will not be able to afford this. Moreover, if the patients die when they are under our care, we have to face an aggressive mob. The government has to back us and give us protection,” he added.