Delhi govt ties up with private hospitals to ensure speedy surgeries for poor

Residents of the city will no longer have to wait months for undergoing life-saving elective surgeries at Delhi government hospitals.

The AAP administration has tied up with 41 private NABH-accredited hospitals to facilitate 30 kinds of surgeries – including heart bypass, cataract and kidney stone removal procedures – free of charge for patients referred by Delhi government hospitals. It will reimburse the hospitals at Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) rates for the complete treatment – including pre-surgery consultation, surgery, medicines, food and hospital stay, and follow-ups for a month after discharge.

At present, patients visiting Delhi government hospitals have to wait anywhere between three months and two years to undergo these surgeries. “We have tied up with several big private hospitals in the city to reduce the backlog in our hospitals. If the patient gets a surgery date over a month later, they will be automatically referred to these hospitals,” said Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain.

Though patients from all income groups can avail of this service, it is restricted only to residents of the city. “The person will only have to provide a residence proof – Aadhaar card, voter card, passport, driving license or birth certificate – to benefit from this scheme,” Jain said.

Thirty Delhi government hospitals will be allowed to give referrals for these surgeries, with the exception of heart bypass — for which GB Pant Hospital will be the sole authority.

The government will also provide free orthopaedic implants to patients at the Guru Teg Bahadur, Lok Nayak, Baba Saheb Ambedkar and Deendayal Upadhayay hospitals.

In December last year, the government had tied up with eight private laboratories to facilitate free CT scans and MRIs for poor patients. Two weeks ago, it widened the coverage of the scheme to include 13 expensive tests.