The Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital (Mayo) has joined hands with MOIL Limited to provide free knee replacement surgeries to patients who are not covered under any government health scheme.
The initiative, launched under the guidance of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, aims to improve access to costly orthopaedic procedures for underserved sections of society.
IGGMCH Dean Ravi Chavan said the facility will primarily benefit economically weaker patients living within a 10-km radius of mining areas in Nagpur and Bhandara districts, along with patients from rural regions admitted to the hospital. To identify eligible beneficiaries, screening camps will be conducted in mining belts by the health department in collaboration with IGGMCH and MOIL.
MOIL operates four mines in Nagpur district and two in Bhandara, areas with a considerable tribal population, making the initiative particularly significant.
Estimates suggest that out of Maharashtra’s nearly 4 crore population aged above 40, around 40 lakh people suffer from arthritis and other joint-related conditions, with nearly 10 lakh requiring joint replacement surgery.
Last year, the orthopaedics department at IGGMCH carried out over 125 joint replacement surgeries, mostly under schemes such as the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana and Ayushman Bharat. However, several patients remain excluded due to lack of documentation or eligibility issues.
In private hospitals, such surgeries typically cost between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 3 lakh per knee, putting them out of reach for many patients.
Dr M Faisal, professor and head of orthopaedics at IGGMCH, said that around 100 joint replacement surgeries are expected to be conducted annually under MOIL’s CSR support. He added that the initiative is aimed at ensuring that no eligible patient is denied treatment due to financial or procedural constraints.
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