PRATIK PARAB
pratik@herald-goa.com
MARGAO: Is the Deen Dayal Swasthya Seva Yojana (DDSSY) truly giving needy people cashless facility? An investigation of the Margao Hospicio operation has revealed a nexus of government staff in Hospicio, employees and private hospitals unduly favouring private hospitals. The nexus is worth a cash flow of lakhs of rupees exchanged against the favour done to private hospitals and it is destroying the very purpose of the scheme.
The DDSSY scheme was conceptualised with the objective to provide the best medical facilities to Goans in distress and in need of hassle-free financial backup. This scheme was made cashless so that the family of the patient doesn’t feel the pinch of hefty medical bills. The scheme is doing its job, however, Herald has discovered cases wherein worried patients have been taken for a ride in the name of referring for further treatment.
Patients at Hospicio hospital are usually being referred to private hospitals that are making a killing on the bills of patients. There even have been incidents wherein patients were referred to some private hospitals from Hospicio because there was no bed linen available or due to the absence of anesthesia.
What surprises is that several patients who were referred to private hospitals have been asked to pay Rs 30,000 or more for procedures which the hospitals ultimately claim are not covered by DDSSY.
Herald met a relative of cardiac patient Chandrawati Salkar, aged 75 from Fatorda, who were misguided by medical staff at Hospicio into a situation wherein he was forced to pay Rs 28,000 for his ailing mother.
The relative explained that soon after the ECG report of his mother at Hospicio he was told that he will be required to do angiography urgently. The doctors suggested a private hospital in Margao and accordingly, he shifted his mother there. After the angiography the medical staff at the hospital told him that his mother had six blocks and the issue wouldn’t be solved by angioplasty.
Now here’s the catch, the patient was told that she will have to go for a major operation for resolution and ultimately was told that angiography with angioplasty is covered in DDSSY otherwise she will have to pay. Meanwhile, the relative was being convinced to keep the patient in their hospital for surgery, which he refused, choosing GMC. The hospital also told that the doctor would be only available after four days contradicting their own urgency.
The irony is that due to non-availability of a doctor, the patient was ultimately sent to GMC for treatment for her cardiac ailment paying Rs 28,000 and another Rs 25,000 as a deposit to the private hospital.
Now, the relative of the patient asks, “Was all these three days of wastage of precious time and money needed when my mother could have been sent to GMC? Is this the cashless scheme? Why refer to private hospitals when we have a great cardiac unit at GMC?”
Speaking to Herald on the issue, Medical Superintendent of Hospicio Ira Almeida said, “There is a direction from the Government that if there is a DDSSY insured patient he/she can be sent to Victor Hospital in Margao for treatment of cardiac ailments”.
The Medical Superintendent however informed that she would check with the Public Relations Office of the hospital as to why the patients are being asked for money.
When asked whether the patients, who come for small orthopedic procedures are sent to private hospitals, she assured to inquire into the matter.
This is just one of many cases that have been arising from Hospicio. Sources in Hospicio said that patients have also been referred to private hospitals because of the deficiency of bed linen in the Hospicio. In another case, a patient was referred to a private hospital as there was no anesthesia available at Hospicio.
Senior staff members at Hospicio are alleged to be part of this nexus without which this kind of mobilisation is next to impossible. One of the staff said, “Ambulances of private hospitals are stationed all day at Hospicio and continuously transferring patients to their hospital. For Hospicio, incidentally we have two ambulances and one is gone for repair and second is lying idle.”
Herald dug deeper into the incidents and found that the nexus is being run like a corporate company with marketing and sales executives of private hospitals meeting Hospicio staff and DDSSY staff attempting to convince them to facilitate referring of patients to their hospital.
One of the staff said, “The marketing managers of private hospitals have revealed to us their annual targets of over Rs 10 to 12 crore through all means. I was offered Rs 1000 per patient for facilitation and the higher the position, the better they have been offered and many have fallen for it.”
In the next segment, Herald will reveal how the nexus is functioning and who is earning from this and by what means.
