Siliguri, 21st January: A report of private nursing home charging medical fees to a patient despite holding the Swasthya Sathi card has once again surfaced from the city.
Reportedly, a nursing home located in Devidanga area under Ward No. 46 of Siliguri Municipal Corporation has been accused of charging money to a Swasthya Sathi cardholder.
Relative of the patient from Dinhata, Arjun Das said that four days ago his patient who suffers from kidney problem was admitted to the said nursing home. The Swasthya Sathi card was deposited at the hospital. In spite of this, the nursing home management demanded 80 thousand rupees from him saying that the patient needed to undergo two operations. Das somehow deposited 50 thousand rupees. After the operation on January 19, he alleges that the nursing home is now demanding for the unpaid dues.
Arjun Das alleges that despite being a Swasthya Sathi cardholder, the nursing home is charging him with medical fees. He charged out being cheated on in the name of the Swasthya Sathi scheme.
The Swasthya Sathi is a flagship scheme launched by the TMC government, providing health cover of up to ₹5 lakh per annum to a family for secondary and tertiary care.
Meanwhile, Baleshwar Mandal, director of the said nursing home, called the allegations made by the patient’s family as baseless. He said that the Swasthya Sathi card of Arjun Das’s patient Dinanath Das was submitted to the management three days later.
He stated that the card is supposed to be deposited at the nursing home at the time of admission of the patient. Apart from this, he said that the nursing home falls under the ‘C’ grade, meaning that the Swasthya Sathi card will not be applicable to carry out any serious and major operation.
Taking a jibe at TMC, Ananda Barman, the general secretary of BJP’s Siliguri organisational district said that the state government is misleading people through the Swasthya Sathi card. He asserted that people are not going to benefit from the card.
BJP’s Siliguri organisational district vice-president Sabita Agarwal said that the state government is using the Swasthya Sathi card for political gains. She further alleged that the people come to BJP for help with the Swasthya Sathi card provided by the TMC does not work. “BJP has always been the voice of the needy and will continue to be so,” Agarwal added.