Devaji Bhadke, an old farmer from a small village near Satara, had been camping in the premises of Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) for more than a week along with wife Kaushalya. The old couple decided to stay put despite their next meeting with the doctors being scheduled after three days in order to save some money, which eventually they could not.
Security guard Mohan Thakur had taken his 7-year-old son Pratik to GMC when the child suffered a severe head injury due to a fall. In the first visit, all went well but when he visited for a follow up a week later, he felt he should have gone to a private hospital.
The reason for disappointment in both the cases was the sudden hike in the fees of various diagnostic tests at the hospital. These are not isolated cases. There are several hundred patients affected by this move of the state government, which they term as unfair and unjustifiable. "Earlier, we used to suffer the deficiencies at government hospitals as they did not really pinch our pockets. With fees now so high and the loss of trust in the government machinery, private hospitals seem a more sensible option," said Thakur.
The increase in the charges for disgnostic tests at state-run hospitals has now started having an effect. The number of patients coming to these hospitals has dropped in the last two months while the hospitals' revenue has risen. Since the beginning of February, charges for everything from registration, to pathological tests, to discharge fee have been more than doubled.
The patients are specially troubled because the increase in charges is not accompanied with noticeable improvement in services. In several cases, treatments that were provided free of charge like radiotherapy now cost a few thousands. GMC used to earn Rs 12 to 13 lakh every month as the fees for the services. In the last two months, this has gone up to Rs 19 to 20 lakh.
Though most doctors with the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) claimed that the number of patients has not been affected, the records tell a different story. Over the last two months, the number of patients in the OPD has seen a steep fall of almost 10,000 patients per month. Blood tests that would earlier cost Rs 10 and the liver and kidney tests that cost Rs 50 now cost thrice as much. The charges for an X-ray done have gone up from Rs 30 to Rs 75.
The head of the radiotherapy department at the GMC, Dr Krishna Kamble admitted that the number of patients had dipped but he refused to attribute it to the higher charges. "For a while now we have seen patients not having a BPL card but also not able to afford the treatment. We wish to identify such people and do something about their plight," he said. Dr Kamble said his ward always had around 70-80 patients but now had only 50-60.
The nurses at various OPDs, however, were more forthcoming. "People from other states like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh are still coming to the hospital. The number of locals has gone down," said one. "Many patients came to government hospitals because of their nominal fees. Though, the government feels the increase is slight, several patients cannot afford even this increase," said a senior official at Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital (IGGMCH).
The move has earned a lot of flak from the doctors as well as activists. Past national president of Indian Medical Association Dr Anil Laddhad said, "This move has made medical treatment unaffordable for the poor. These temples of health services are supposed to serve these very people have been defiled by the move."
Security guard Mohan Thakur had taken his 7-year-old son Pratik to GMC when the child suffered a severe head injury due to a fall. In the first visit, all went well but when he visited for a follow up a week later, he felt he should have gone to a private hospital.
The reason for disappointment in both the cases was the sudden hike in the fees of various diagnostic tests at the hospital. These are not isolated cases. There are several hundred patients affected by this move of the state government, which they term as unfair and unjustifiable. "Earlier, we used to suffer the deficiencies at government hospitals as they did not really pinch our pockets. With fees now so high and the loss of trust in the government machinery, private hospitals seem a more sensible option," said Thakur.
The increase in the charges for disgnostic tests at state-run hospitals has now started having an effect. The number of patients coming to these hospitals has dropped in the last two months while the hospitals' revenue has risen. Since the beginning of February, charges for everything from registration, to pathological tests, to discharge fee have been more than doubled.
The patients are specially troubled because the increase in charges is not accompanied with noticeable improvement in services. In several cases, treatments that were provided free of charge like radiotherapy now cost a few thousands. GMC used to earn Rs 12 to 13 lakh every month as the fees for the services. In the last two months, this has gone up to Rs 19 to 20 lakh.
Though most doctors with the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) claimed that the number of patients has not been affected, the records tell a different story. Over the last two months, the number of patients in the OPD has seen a steep fall of almost 10,000 patients per month. Blood tests that would earlier cost Rs 10 and the liver and kidney tests that cost Rs 50 now cost thrice as much. The charges for an X-ray done have gone up from Rs 30 to Rs 75.
The head of the radiotherapy department at the GMC, Dr Krishna Kamble admitted that the number of patients had dipped but he refused to attribute it to the higher charges. "For a while now we have seen patients not having a BPL card but also not able to afford the treatment. We wish to identify such people and do something about their plight," he said. Dr Kamble said his ward always had around 70-80 patients but now had only 50-60.
The nurses at various OPDs, however, were more forthcoming. "People from other states like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh are still coming to the hospital. The number of locals has gone down," said one. "Many patients came to government hospitals because of their nominal fees. Though, the government feels the increase is slight, several patients cannot afford even this increase," said a senior official at Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital (IGGMCH).
The move has earned a lot of flak from the doctors as well as activists. Past national president of Indian Medical Association Dr Anil Laddhad said, "This move has made medical treatment unaffordable for the poor. These temples of health services are supposed to serve these very people have been defiled by the move."
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