New Delhi: Delhi high Court Central and State Governments and Delhi Municipal Corporation have been directed to ensure hassle free financial help To poor patient In public hospital Take action in the city within four weeks and file the action report by October 15. The court also directed implementation of the recommendations by the committee constituted by the court and headed by the Chief Secretary.

In September last year, the high court had constituted a seven-member panel to streamline the process of providing free medical treatment under various government schemes in city hospitals. The committee was also asked to recommend ways to plug the loopholes in the current system for providing financial assistance to the poor.

The committee headed by the Chief Secretary recommended the appointment of a nodal officer for all public hospitals including Delhi Government, Central Government, MCD and autonomous hospitals including AIIMS to oversee various schemes like Delhi Arogya Kosh, National Health Fund, National Health Fund, etc. Arogya Nidhi and Health Minister Cancer Patient Fund. The Nodal Officer will ensure that all the requirements necessary for providing financial assistance are met.

Single window mechanism will be implemented or extended in all hospitals for the convenience of patients. Further, all hospitals have been advised to be more proactive in treating poor patients and expedite the approval process, preferably within seven days. Until their treatment is approved under various government schemes, hospitals will have to continue caring for these patients with the resources available to them.

Medical directors of government hospitals have been provided with the powers of authorized head of department to approve applications for emergency treatment. Patients will not be asked to obtain quotations for estimated treatment costs. The reality of the estimate and cost of transplant etc. will be the responsibility of the MS/MD of the concerned hospital.

The Committee also recommended that the process of preparing rate cards through a Central Procurement Agency fixing the rates of all types of devices (including implants and drugs) should be started immediately. This should be done through the government procurement system for all types of treatments as well as diseases covered under the scheme. This process should be completed within three months.

“There may still be some medicines/consumables, etc., which are not part of the essential medicine list, and rate cards for these are not available. The hospital/institution will continue to procure these locally through its own procurement system,” the committee recommended.

Another recommendation was that the websites of all government hospitals in Delhi should be upgraded to a dynamic website. This will allow real-time updates on available drugs, implants and devices with the help of National Informatics Center or selected vendors. Additionally, all public hospitals must ensure that information on medicines, implants and equipment available in various departments is accessible to patients.

Advocate Ashok Aggarwal, appearing for petitioner Sarvesh, who had sought the court’s intervention after AIIMS refused to perform total hip and knee replacement surgeries free of cost, said the court’s recommendations were fine but they had to be implemented. .