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| Govt to regulate rates of services in private hospitals | | | Ishtiyaq Ahmad
Early Times Report
Srinagar, July 10: The government Tuesday claimed that it is soon implementing the report of a committee recommending regulation of rates of various procedures and services in private hospitals of the state.
In September last year the committee which was constituted for regulating rates in private hospitals had submitted its report, but the government had failed in its execution.
"The failure of the previous government to regulate rates was taking a toll on patients", sources maintained.
An official of the Health Department here in the civil secretriate told Early Times that rates of private hospitals are being monitored everywhere in the world. "But there is no check on private hospitals in the Valley. Now we have decided to regulate rates in these hospitals," the official claimed.
In absence of regulations, there have been complaints coming frequently from patients about being fleeced by private hospitals, he said.
There are 42 private hospitals and nursing homes registered with the DHSK.
"There are also variations in tests in privately run medical labs," the official said.
The official said that private hospitals had raised objections over implementation of the report for regulation of rates and even had approached the court in this regard. "Let's hope that we could implement it so that there is uniformity in rates," the official said.
In 2012, Health Department had issued an order making mandatory for nursing homes to display costs against services provided by them for the purpose of transparency.
A government of India's survey released in 2016 has revealed that childbirth at a private hospital in J&K would cost more than it would cost in most states of India.
The survey has said that for a single childbirth at a private hospital in Kashmir's rural private nursing home is Rs. 23,750 on an average, higher than national average.
Mohmmad Aslam of Mehjoor Nagar Sriangar, who underwent surgery for removal of gall bladder few months before, said, "We were charged Rs 35000 by a private hospital in Magarmal Bagh Srinagar.
It has also been seen that patient load in government hospitals force people to turn to private hospitals for treatment.
Shabir Ahmad, who is resident of Bemina, said there is huge variation in rates. "The proprietors of hospitals charge as per their will for surgeries and tests. The government should fix reasonable rates so that patients are not charged with hefty sums for surgeries and consultations," he added.
A senior official of Health Department said that they did a thorough exercise for regulation of rates before submitting the report to the government.
"We talked to lot of private practioners and doctors. We recommended that there shall be reasonable rates," the official said.
Presently, he said they can't raid any hospital for charging exorbitant to patients. "Once the rates are fixed, we too can take action," he added. |
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