City govt ties up with pvt hospitals to address surgery delay

Residents of the national capital will no longer have to wait for months for undergoing some of the life-saving surgeries as the Delhi government has tied up with 41 private hospitals to address the issue of delay.
Heath Minister Satyendar Jain today said the government would soon announce this scheme, which would also ease the burden on the government's health infrastructure.
The AAP government said it has joined hands with the 41 NABH-accredited hospitals for the purpose.
"The free facility will be provided to patients if the waiting period for surgery in government hospitals exceeds one month. This would be available at 41 NABH-accredited private hospitals registered under the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS)," Jain said.

He was speaking at a function at Delhi Secretariat, where Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also launched a scheme under which Delhiites can now avail free radiology tests at 21 private laboratories in the city.
National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers is a constituent board of Quality Council of India, set up to establish and operate accreditation programme for healthcare organisations.

These surgeries, including heart bypass, kidney stone removal, cataract, would be provided free of charge under the scheme.
The government will reimburse the hospitals at CGHS rates for the complete treatment including pre-surgery consultation, surgery, medicines, food and hospital stay.

Presently, patients visiting the city government hospitals have to sometimes wait for between three months to a couple of years to undergo these surgeries.
"We have tied up to clear the backlog in our hospitals and if the date for surgery for a patient is given such that it exceeds the waiting period by one month, it will automatically be referred to these partnering hospitals," he said.
Thirty Delhi government hospitals would be allowed to give referrals to these hospitals. Some of the major hospitals under the city administration include Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Hospital (LNJP), G B Pant Hospital, GTB Hospital and Dr B R Ambedkar Hospital.

In December 2016, the government had tied up with eight private laboratories to facilitate free MRIs and CT scans for needy patients.