28 December,2017 01:07 PM IST | Mumbai | Rupsa Chakraborty
Rs 250-crore budget to also cover building collapses, agricultural mishaps and acid attacks
Apart from road accidents
The state health department is in the final stages of setting aside Rs 250 crore to provide free emergency treatment to all accident victims for the first 48 hours. The plan has been sent to the Chief Minister's Office for final approval. It will apply to not just road accidents, but also other mishaps, such as building collapses and acid attacks. Dr Satish Pawar, chief of the Directorate of Health Services, said, "We have proposed a budget of around Rs 250 crore. The file had been sent to the finance department, and has now been forwarded to the CM's office for the final nod."
The emergency scheme will also cover mishaps like building collapses
mid-day had yesterday reported that the Maharashtra government would be following in the footsteps of Delhi, Kerala and Karnataka, by announcing a medical emergency policy. Under the scheme, the state will cover up to Rs 30,000 of treatment costs for accident victims. This will ensure that victims of no longer have to scramble for money for private hospitals, or waste time travelling to the nearest government hospital.
The scheme will cover all types of emergency cases, like acid attacks and building crashes
All types of mishaps
The scheme will cover all types of emergency cases, like acid attacks, building crashes and agricultural mishaps. "The main motive of the scheme is to provide early treatment to accident victims. It will cover any kind of accident. Even if the person is from another state, as long as the mishap occurs in Maharashtra, the patient can avail of the scheme," Dr Pawar added.
The scheme will operate like insurance, so once it gets the final nod from the CMO, the health department will tie up with banks. "Once the plan is approved, no hospital will be able to ask for money to admit an accident victim. Only after two days of treatment, when the patient's condition improves, they will be given a choice either to pay for treatment in a private hospital or be shifted to a government or BMC-run hospital," explained Dr Pawar.
Financial nod?
While the health department claims to have got financial clearance, Dinesh Kumar Jain, additional chief secretary of the state Finance department, said, "We are aware of the proposed scheme, but I haven't received the proposal for the same." Despite repeated attempts to contact state health minister Dr Deepak Sawant, he remained unavailable for comment.
