CM: 80% of beds at state cancer hosp to be for Delhiites

NEW DELHI: Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said 80% of the beds at Delhi State Cancer Institute (DSCI), the only cancer hospital run by the state government, would be reserved for Delhiites. This, he said, will ensure locals get preference in cancer treatment.

DSCI is east Delhi has 195 beds, out of which 24 are paid. Officials said many patients from the states like Uttar Pradesh visit the hospital due to paucity of treatment facilities in those regions. “Locals often don’t get bed due to unavailability,” said an official.

Last year, the government had decided to reserve 50% of the beds at GB Pant Hospital and this July, it ordered separation of registration counters for patients from Delhi and other states in Guru Tegh Bahadur (GTB) Hospital.

The government claimed that due to better health infrastructure and availability of medicines for free, people from other states were flooding Delhi hospitals. The ‘outsiders’ are already out of the purview of government schemes such as free laboratory tests, imaging services and surgery in private facilities under certain circumstances.

Public health experts have termed the recent move as discriminatory. “Reservation in hospitals is a retrograde step. It must be done away with,” said lawyer-activist Ashok Agarwal.

T Sunder Raman, a public health professional, said while policy measures were needed to ease the financial burden on the Delhi government due to the high influx of patients from other states, it shouldn’t be done by denying admission to them. “The Delhi government can charge the states from where patients visit these hospitals,” Raman suggested.

But Dr G S Grewal, secretary of Delhi Medical Association, supported the move. “Why should the locals be deprived of facilities due to the lack of infrastructure in other states?”

In India, there is serious inequalities in specialised health services such as cancer care as most big hospitals and oncologists are concentrated in major cities. States like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Orissa lack in both infrastructure and skilled manpower. “Hundreds of patients, mostly poor, come from these states to Delhi daily for treatment,” said a senior doctor at AIIMS.

  • Related Posts

    Queer Tale of Transplant in Sir Ganga Ram, Recipient- to- be turns Donor

    New Delhi: It is a bizarre twist in the tale of organ transplant in Sir Ganga Ram hospital none had imagined. Fate intervened and turned the tale upside down. The…

    Brain Dead Youth’s Organs proved Manna from ‘Aakash’ saving 5 lives

    New Delhi: As 18 year old boy cruised heavenward, windfall of lives followed in Aakash Healthcare. In his death from a fatal accident, the boy became the reason for gift…

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    You Missed

    Spurious drugs: Maiden Pharma blacklisted, all contracts cancelled

    Spurious drugs: Maiden Pharma blacklisted, all contracts cancelled

    DCC Calls For Strict Implementation Of Revised Schedule M, State-Level Activities To Address AMR

    DCC Calls For Strict Implementation Of Revised Schedule M, State-Level Activities To Address AMR

    Sanofi, Cipla Join Hands To Expand Reach Of CNS Portfolio In India

    Sanofi, Cipla Join Hands To Expand Reach Of CNS Portfolio In India

    Cyberabad Police Seize 1 Kg Alprazolam, Arrest Three

    Cyberabad Police Seize 1 Kg Alprazolam, Arrest Three

    Lee Health develops natural capsule for effective Heart care

    Lee Health develops natural capsule for effective Heart care

    Medical Shop Run By Twenty20 In Kizhakkambalam Asked To Shut Down

    Medical Shop Run By Twenty20 In Kizhakkambalam Asked To Shut Down