MARGAO: The Employees State Insurance Hospital at Khareband, which supplies free dialysis bags to the elderly patients of ESI, ran out of stock some time ago. The patients, who are generally in the low income group, have been buying the bags and are worried as their dear ones have been borrowing money for the same.
The mother of Leo D’Costa, who has paid to deserve the benefit of the services regularly and is 69 years old, bought a dialysis bag of 7.5 per cent for daily use. Leo works in a hotel and earns to feed his wife, kids, mother and brother. Sadly, for months now, the dialysis bags at the ESI Hospital in Margao are out of stock. This has forced Leo to buy them from elsewhere.
“I am working in a hotel on a salary just enough for our basic needs. I am entitled for ESI benefits. However, I have spent over Rs 12,000 every month for a dialysis bag for three months now,” said Leo. Leo’s salary is obviously less than Rs 15,000 a month for him to qualify as an ESI beneficiary.
He further said, “I was earlier told that there was a problem of funds. Now I am told that there is no supply from the company. The reasons may be many, but they won’t save my mother from the delay and the financial crisis I am going through every month. I have been making rounds of the hospital and spending Rs 12,000 per month for the dialysis bags with a scanty salary, which leaves me with no money for any other domestic expenditure. The money is deducted from our account every month, but when it comes to services, we are left starving at the ESI.”
The patients are asked to buy the dialysis bags from elsewhere with a promise of reimbursing the bill later. However, it was learnt that there is a delay of four to five months to repay the patients.
The bags of 1.5%, 2.5% and 7.5% are the basic measures of the dialysis bags. The 1.5% and 2.5% bags aren’t useful for the older folks as they only last for a few hours. The 7.5% in comparison will last for a longer time. Elderly patients prefer the 7.5% bags as they get relief through constant application of the same.
When contacted, Dr Shubhangi Lotliker, who is in charge of the purchases for ESI hospital, said, “The delay has been from the supplier company’s side and it was only for a month. The stock reached the central store four days back and the patient needs to coordinate and take it. Also, there was a deferred supply of the 7.5% bags only and the 1.5% and 2.5% were available.”
The State and those in charge of running the ESI need to answer why lakhs of employees are paying for a service that has so many hitches and are also denied easy access to medical facilities.
