Hyderabad: Government refuses to wilt under private hospitals pressure

Hyderabad: The government on Thursday refused to budge to the pressure from the private hospitals, which were disappointed with the rate card issued for treatment of Covid.

Health Minister Eatala Rajender who met the delegation of Telangana Super Specialty Hospitals' Association, urged them to support the government in providing medical facilities to the people. It is not proper for some people who are creating panic among the people in the name of coronavirus.

The Minister said that based on the requests from the people, the government allowed private hospitals to take up corona cases. The private hospitals should also treat this as a responsibility and provide treatment based on the rate card issued by the government.

The Minister wanted the hospitals to have government prescribed prices for the patients in ICUs. The charges of PPE kits, medicines and other should be collected based on the government rates, the Minister said.

The State government recently released rate card specifying rates for the treatment of corona.

The prices prescribed include Rs 2,200 for Covid tests for samples collected in labs/hospitals, Rs 2,800 for samples collected from home. Apart from these, the prices for ward and isolation were Rs 4,000, for ICU without ventilator Rs 7,500 and Rs 9,000 for ICU with ventilators.

The Health Minister said that the government hospitals were ready to take any number of patients.

He asked the hospitals to ensure patients with symptoms of corona positive are treated in the hospital and send the patients with no symptoms to home quarantine. He said that the government has already ordered to shift the patients without symptoms to home quarantine.

The hospitals representatives requested the government to clear the Aarogyasri dues to which the minister assured to release the funds.