Vijayawada: Hospitals warned not to collect fee from patients

Vijayawada: The medical services under Dr NTR Vaidya Seva Trust are totally free, District Collector Dr G Srijana said and warned the hospitals of serious action if they collected fee from the patients.

Addressing the district disciplinary committee at the Collectorate here on Friday, Dr Srijana said that the government intended to provide corporate medical facilities to the poor and has been implementing Dr NTR Vaidya Seva Trust scheme. If anybody collects fee from the poor patients severe action would be taken against such hospitals.

The disciplinary committee imposed fine on some network hospitals which violated the rules and collected fee from the poor. The committee scrupulously verified the complaints and asked for explanation from the hospitals and again crosschecked with the complainants before imposing fine.

She warned the hospitals not to repeat such mistakes and act in a transparent manner with accountability. She suggested to Vaidya Mitras and team leaders to be alert all the time to provide services to the patients. District medical and health officer Dr M Suhasini, DCHS Dr BCK Naik, Dr NTR Vaidya Seva Trust district coordinator Dr J Suman and others were present.