Vidarbha Hospitals Association, a unit of Hospitals Association, Nagpur has been repeatedly highlighting the imposition of audits on private hospitals who have been forced to reserve beds and work within capped charges without any compensation bypassing National Health Authority guidelines.
The recent sustained firing of notifications has broken the back and dented the determination of private hospitals to continue serving Covid patients. Recently a delegation of Nagpur IMA and VHA office bearers met Radhakrishnan, IAS, Nagpur Municipal Commissioner and Jalaj Sharma, Additional Municipal Commissioner-Nagpur and expressed their desire to stop undertaking Covid duties.
The office bearers highlighted that since last 1 years, private Health care sector has attended to thousands of Covid patients and Nagpur was brought in National map by becoming one of the cities with maximum ventilator/ ICU/ Oxygenated Covid beds in view of the investments done on their own by private hospitals. Almost 3/4 of Covid patients were treated by Nagpur private hospitals even with their objections on capping and audits.
Dr. Sanjay Deotale- Nagpur IMA President stated that leave aside a word of appreciation, now doctors are being threatened with penal actions and multiple authorities are flooding them with orders to send varied reports, formats, details, data. through emails, hard copies and WhatsApp groups.
Dr. Ashok Arbat- VHA President said that these administrative overload has overwhelmed the private hospitals and now they seek to excuse themselves with the Covid service. The hospitals were not worried about Covid care rendition but are harassed by the administrative interference seeking confidential data in various formats. The already taxed hospital personnel are hassled not by clinical duties but by these paperwork, he added.
Dr. Anil Laddhad-MMC Member added that rather than face the overwhelming thankless task of compiling voluminous data in various formats, the private hospitals now wish to withdraw themselves from Covid duties and continue with non Covid routine work. One should check the cost incurred on each Covid patients per day in Government establishments before pointing fingers at private hospitals who have forced to run in capped charges for 80% beds, he added.
Dr. Anup Marar- VHA Convener stated that no compensation was ever given for establishing Covid hospitals and making infrastructural changes or equipment additions. No support came from Government in form of any assistance, subsidies or grants. Rather NMC hospital registration and Biomedical waste disposal charges was increased multi-fold. The hospitals are directed to serve within capped charges and pay from their own pockets for increasing oxygen charges, he added.
Dr. Alok Umre-VHA Secretary conveyed that hospital personnel feel insecure with the threats and mob vandalism by social activists. Arrests as per 2010 act were never undertaken on those who vandalised the hospitals to set an example. Even Hon’ble High Court had directed that no videography be permitted in Covid hospitals. Still all social activists blatantly took videos and maligned the image of many hospitals in social media.
Dr. Sachin Gathe- IMA Secretary concluded by saying that it is difficult to serve in such tough conditions. Government has not been able to protect the interests of private hospitals. Hence we are being forced to take such a decision as hospital personnel now need some rest time rather than facing insults from all corners, he added. The authorities are welcome to take lease possession of hospitals under National Health Authority guidelines.
Renowned doctors of city including Dr Archana Kothari, Dr. Anand Sancheti, Dr. Tushar Gawad, Dr. Shishir Kolhe, Dr. Abhiram Paranjape, Dr. Shishir Shrivastava, Dr. Deepak Jeswani, Dr. Pravin Lad, Dr. Sandip Mogre, Dr. Dilip Rathi, Dr. Nilesh Agarwal, Dr. Mahesh Sarda, Dr. Rajesh Mundhada, and many others accompanied IMA & VHA delegation to convey this inclination.
