SURAJ NANDREKAR
suraj@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: After successfully implementing the proposal to charge outstation patients for treatment at government hospitals, the State government has decided to charge foreigners the full amount for medical treatment availed at government-run hospitals.
Since January 2018, patients from outside Goa are being charged 20 per cent of the fee as prescribed in the State’s Deen Dayal Swastha Seva Yojana (DDSSY) charged by ‘C’ category hospitals, while locals continue to get treatment free of cost.
“Since then the State has been collecting Rs 5 cr a year from outstation patients,” Rane told Herald. He said revenue is going to double in the coming year. “I can assure you that in the coming year we will achieve the target of Rs 10 cr collection of revenue. We have already held a meeting with Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant and things are being implemented systematically,” he added.
Asked how the revenue would improve, he said the government would be strict on documentation. “Besides documentation, we will also be charging 100 per cent of treatment cost to foreigners,” he said.
“The decision to start the separate queues and charge non-Goans for treatment comes with an eye to protect the interest of locals and to reduce the load of patients on GMC,” he said.
GMC Dean Dr Shivanand Bandekar, confirming the plans, said there are quite a few foreigners who seek treatment in government hospitals. This step of charging outstation people was taken to ensure that locals are given priority in these hospitals as State government is spending crores of rupees for maintenance and upkeep these facilities, he said.
He added, “Nearly 30 to 40 per cent of patients at these hospitals arrive from outside the State, especially from Maharashtra and Karnataka. We need to provide treatment on priority to the locals. In emergency cases patients would be given priority in these hospitals, even if the patient arrives from outside the State.”
Meanwhile, the Health Minister said that procurement of medicine in the oncology and other departments would be done once the new departments settle down. “I have spoken to Dr Anupama Borkar and told her that the tender for medicines in oncology would be floated once we complete six months. We need to know what kind of medicines we need, as the departments have just started,” he said.
Rane said this in reference to GPCC president Girish Chodankar’s allegations of a scam in purchase of medicine. “There are 4,000 different types of medicines. Chodankar needs to understand the basics before making any statement,” he said.