Delhi residents to get preference at GTB Hospital, pilot from Sep 15

From reserved beds to free medicines, Delhi residents would be given preference while seeking treatment at city government-run GTB Hospital, and a pilot for this project would begin from September 15, officials said.

The proposal to give preference to the residents of Delhi at the Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital in east Delhi's Dilshad Garden was approved in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at the Delhi Secretariat today, they said.

It was attended by Health Minister Satyendar Jain and senior officials of the health department.

The move comes a day after Kejriwal had announced that 80 per cent of free services at the Delhi State Cancer Institute (DSCI) the only government-run cancer hospital will be reserved for people from the national capital.

"The pilot project comes into effect from September 15. Residents of Delhi would get preference at the registration counters, in-patient department (IPD), tests and medicine counter service," the Delhi government said in a statement.

"Out of the 17 registration counters, 13 would be meant for the residents of Delhi, while four would be meant for people from outside Delhi. The identification of the residents of Delhi would be done on the basis of voter identity card. They will be required to present a valid voter card for identification. Minors would have to present the voter identity cards of their parent, it said.

The registration cards would be "colour-coded" to differentiate between the residents of Delhi and patients from outside Delhi.

"Free medicine would be available only to the residents of Delhi with valid voter card. Big tests will be available to only the residents of Delhi. However, simple tests like blood test, X-ray etc would be free for both residents of Delhi and patients from outside Delhi," the government said.

"In the IPD, 80 per cent beds will be for the residents of Delhi, while 20 per cent would be for the patients from outside Delhi. Emergency services at the hospitals would be free and available to all patients visiting the hospital," it said.

The hospital authorities have been directed to put up notice boards and to spread information about the launch of the pilot project at the facility, it added.

Yesterday, Kejriwal had tweeted that he had visited the DSCI.

"80 per cent facilities will be reserved for Del patients (only 40% available for Del patients today). At present, only 40 per cent of the people getting treated at the hospital are Delhi residents," he said.

He had also said that "6.5 acres more space will be allotted" and proposals for additional equipment pending in Delhi government would be cleared in 10 days.