AB-NHPS scheme: Kerala govt may empanel Wenlock

The 170-year-old district Wenlock Hospital is likely to be empaneled by Kerala government under AB-NHPS (Ayushman Bharat - National Health Protection Scheme), District Wenlock Hospital Superintendent and District Surgeon Dr H R Rajeshwari Devi said.

In the past, the government’s many attempts to get Kerala government empanel the district Wenlock Hospital, which also treats patients from Kerala, had not yielded any results. The Kerala government, in response to a letter from then Secretary (Health and Family Welfare) Shalini Rajneesh, had cited lack of resources as the main reason for not empaneling the hospital under Karunya Benevolent Fund scheme (KBFS).

“Of the total 22,197 patients admitted in the district Wenlock Hospital in 2017, nearly 15 per cent patients hail from the neighbouring Kerala state,’’ Dr Rajeshwari Devi said.

Of the total 166 maternity cases registered in the hospital, 120 cases were from Kerala and 50 per cent of patients in trauma ward are from Kerala,’’ a source told DH.

The free treatment rendered to those hailing from Kerala has been a huge burden on the hospital’s meagre resources. "The Wenlock Hospital, like any district hospital in the state, gets an annual grant of about Rs 1 crore. We have been mounting pressure on the Karnataka government to talk to Kerala government on including the hospital in its list of empaneled hospitals since 2014," she said.

"With the launch of AB-NHPS by the centre, I am very confident that Kerala government will empanel the Wenlock Hospital," she stressed.